The Dead Bird Rabbit Hole

Every December, tens of thousands of volunteers look to the skies for an international census of wild birds. 

But during migration season, a much smaller squad of New York City volunteers take on a more sobering experience: counting dead birds that have collided with glass buildings and fallen back to Earth. 

In this episode, we find out what kind of people volunteer for this grisly job, visit the New York City rehab center that takes in injured pigeons, and find out how to stop glass from killing an estimated one billion birds nationwide every year. 

This episode was first produced and published in the spring of 2024.

Featuring Melissa Breyer, Linda LaBella, Gitanjali Bhattacharjee, Katherine Chen, and Tristan Higginbotham. Produced by Taylor Quimby. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. 

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LINKS

Want to see the migration forecast? Check out Birdcast. 

Want to be a citizen scientist and report dead birds? Check out dBird. 

Want to see volunteer Melissa Breyer’s photos of dead birds? Check out Sad Birding.
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