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.

Warbler Abuse at First National Bank

A blatant act of bird abuse occurred at the downtown office building of the First National Bank early in the morning on May 27th. While bicycling about on the usual bird window strike survey, my route passed along the north side of the bank tower, by the atrium. A quick glance indicated there were no disabled or dead birds, so my travel continued. Upon looking back when a bit further along, there seemed to be a bird present near the east doorway of the atrium. A return to the location occurred just when an employee of the bank was present. He was seen using a broom to violently sweep the bird away from the doorway. The bird was moved 5-10 feet into the courtyard. Upon a close-up look, it was a female Common Yellowthroat. It had been disabled upon striking the glass of the atrium, and was trying to recover enough to leave the site, but was abused by the bank worker.

It is quite pathetic that an injured bird had to be treated as though it was some piece of unwanted trash.

The warbler was moved to a safer spot nearby, where it could recover without any further threats by pedestrians or anyone else.

This atrium is a known hazard to migratory birds due to its glass facade and the obvious presence of interior vegetation adjacent to the glass wall. There have been numerous bird window strikes here, and which bank officials are aware of. Yet they do nothing as birds continue to die. And their employee is an abuser of birds!.

MECA Staff Possess and Dispose of Wildbirds

During recent weeks of surveys to determine the extent of birds hitting glass facades in downtown Omaha, there seemed to be a dearth of bird carcasses associated with the CenturyLink Center Omaha. Typically there are one or more carcasses or disabled birds found on a regular basis.

The reason there were have been no carcasses was finally determined, and was — as expected — because of staff working for the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority. Morning's when they do their rounds to clean up trash, they also include bird carcasses. The dead birds are picked up and placed in a bucket on their cart as they continue along their route.

The morning of May 26th, upon approaching the north portion of the west facade of the center, one of two MECA workers was seen using "trash tongs" to pickup two bird carcasses and then place them into the bucket on their cart. Coming up to the cart, the worker was asked: "What kind of birds are those?" The response: "Yellow ones," confirms that the worker knew he was handling birds. Being nearly adjacent to the cart, a quick stop was made and the two carcasses were removed from the plastic bucket. They were two female Common Yellowthroats. Both carcasses were then suitably disposed of in a manner of respect for their natural origin, rather than being dealt with like a discarded styrofoam cup or errant piece of trash. The manner in which the MECA workers dealt with the birds killed at their facility is a crass manner of suitably dealing with the deadly tragedies, and shows a complete lack of respect for formerly vibrant wildbirds.

It is not known how the MECA staff deal with temporarily disabled birds which strike the western, glass facade of the facility. Are the staff workers aware enough or do they take the time to determine if a bird is alive but stunned, or is it treated as if dead. Disabled birds are often in a position similar to a carcass, as they try to recover to an extent where they can fly away. Grasping a bird with trash tongs may also be enough to kill it.

Numerous bird window strikes continue at the CenturyLink Center Omaha, despite the many decals placed upon the upper portion of the glass has not been efficiently effective in reducing the number of bird strikes, based upon findings last year.

There were four violations of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act by MECA in association with the situation observed Tuesday morning, about 6:30 a.m. Each death of two warblers was a taking action. By picking up the carcasses and carrying them around in a plastic bucket, the workers had "possession" of the birds. It is illegal to possess birds without a permit.

This is just one instance of this sort of activity, as the MECA workers certainly have undertaken similar activity on multiple other days this spring, and during past times.

This situation was referred to law enforcement staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by other agency personnel.

There was apparently nothing done about this ongoing disposal of dead birds by MECA employees. Just as expected based upon the lack of action by the F.W.S.

Yellowthroats Suffering at Downtown Omaha

There were nine known instances of Common Yellowthroats striking glass walls at two buildings in downtown Omaha. This became 12 after a mid-day foray to check again for any window-strike instances.

This is the largest number of known instances for this species on any single day. The previous was 11 on an autumn day.

CenturyLink Center Omaha

The first instance was a temporarily disabled female at the north end of the west wall. It heard a nearby male calling and quickly flew to the ground vegetation before a photograph could be taken. There were three dead warblers further to the south. All of these and other recent fatalities despite what is ineffective decals placed upon the windows.

There was also a dead Eastern Wood-Pewee present.

At the mid-day visit, there were two more dead yellowthroats.

Holland Center for Performing Arts

It was completely amazing to see five live yellowthroats at this glass building. They were all disabled along the south wall in the courtyard. Birds in this area within the building often have a difficult time finding their way to escape, and often strike the glass again in their attempt to fly away.

Each of these birds was captured and moved to a green space on the north side of downtown, where it would be safer. Except for the female, the birds flew away with gusto into the shrubbery. Hopefully they all will survive and get away from the dangers of downtown Omaha.

There was also a dead Common Grackle at the same place.

Curtis National Park Service building

Window-strike instance No. 12 was located on the east side of the Curtis Midwest Region National Park Service headquarters along the Omaha riverfront.

There is a website where this quote was found:

"The National Park Service was dedicated to designing a building that exhibited its philosophies about the environment."

This statement certainly does not convey the reality of the building in regards to known deaths of migratory birds.

Disabled Yellowthroat at Omaha-Douglas Civic Center

This Common Yellowthroat was found the morning of May 18th, at the Omaha-Douglas Civic Center in downtown Omaha. The gentleman sitting on the opposite side of the table did not even know there was a colorful bird also using the same table on the plaza.

After getting a couple of pictures, the male yellowthroat flew, but went southward and struck the glass shown in the picture. It was still lively as it was captured for rescue from an unsafe situation.

The warbler was released elsewhere, after its bus ride to another place with a situation suitable for it to recover away from the hazards of city buildings.