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04 June 2015

Bird-Window Strike Number 2000 at Omaha

An itty-bitty female warbler has the dubious distinction of being record number 2000 for the known bird-window strikes in eastern Omaha. Her carcass was obvious on the concrete on the west side of the CenturyLink Center Omaha, early on the morning of May 29th, a Friday, when the fatality was discovered. It was very early in the morning when seen, because the staff of the place operated by the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority are also about early in their ongoing effort to throw birds into the trash. Their manner of the men dealing with bird deaths, and otherwise, notably at the west facade of the building, is pathetic as they have been seen picking up dead birds and throwing them into a trash container. Pick it up, throw it into the bucket and move along is their method. Their action conveys no respect and no proper consideration for what was once a vibrant bird life until the mix of vegetation and glass at the dangerous facility which is a known and ongoing threat to migratory birds. On this particular Friday morning, there were two more instances of bird deaths at the CenturyLink Center Omaha. Two juvenile grackles trying to learn their way in the urban world of east Omaha, also smacked into the glass facade and died. Elsewhere along the mourning's way, there was a dead Tennessee Warbler on the south side of the Union Pacific Center. A juvenile American Robin was dealt with on the west side of the Zorinsky Federal building, further along. These records are the result of 555 surveys of record, primarily done via bicycle along a route of about 13.2 miles, or more than 7,000 miles of pedaling. The Qwest/CenturyLink Center Omaha is the most hazardous building in the river city, with a tally of at least 658 records associated with bird window-strikes, and the tally is 73 species. Each bird death is a tragedy. Each bird death is a travesty. Each bird which dies due to a blasting contact with a glass pane is one more insult to the wild birds. At the CenturyLink Center Omaha, they spend thousands of dollars, according to news reports, and the results are nothing more than worthless, because of the vegetation to the west of the west facade and the lack of inhibitory decals on the lower portion of the glass. MECA spends a lot of money worthlessly since the placement of decals is not where it should be to deter bird-window strikes.

The yellowthroat carcass at CenturyLink Center Omaha, bird window-strike instance number 2000.