Around this time of year, every night, a quiet exodus is occurring. Hundreds of millions of birds are migrating thousands of miles south for the winter. One of the biggest dangers for these tiny travelers? Glass. Researchers estimate that every year in the U. S., collisions with glass windows take out at least a billion birds. Even if the birds initially fly away, these collisions can cause concussions, broken bones, and other injuries; most victims don’t survive. After much reporting, NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce has found … it doesn’t have to be this way. Scientists and researchers have studied how to stop collisions from happening, and examples around the country indicate that even little solutions can make a big difference.Interested in more seasonal animal science? Email us your question at [email protected] to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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And thank you all for listening, for taking a sec to let us know what you think of our show and sharing it with those you love. Okay, on to the episode. You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey, short wavers, it's Emily Kwong here, and it is that time of year again. Can you feel the crispness in the air? Can you hear the crunch of dry leaves? Smell the haunting presence of pumpkin spice?
Oh, God, pumpkin spice. That is NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfield-Boyce. Hey, Nell. Hey. You don't want to talk about pumpkin spice today? I mean, it's fine in moderation, you know, but like when I think about autumn, I think about real pumpkins and, you know, the leaves and whatever. But mainly, actually, I think about birds. The birds. Yes. This is their time to migrate. Right.
There's a lot going south for the winter right now. Yeah, a lot. Like every night, hundreds of millions of them are taking to the air. And like, we don't really notice because this is happening in the dark at night while we're sleeping. But like huge numbers of birds are flying overhead. I hear them in the morning when they're on trees. But why do they fly at night?
Well, I mean, what I've been told is that there's fewer predators and that the air is cooler. It's more stable. And plus, you know, when they navigate, they use the moon and the stars.
Oh, yeah.
But that's actually kind of a problem in some ways, because it turns out that means they can be drawn to artificial lights like the kind humans put around buildings. And so when they come down to rest and refuel in the morning, they can encounter something that they have not been prepared for by evolution. And that is glass. Have you ever heard a bird hit a window?
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