New York Tower Survey
1998 Results
1998 Results
22 Sep 98 NYS Towerkill Survey
Dear Tower Survey Participants and Friends,
Below are the mortality data from our 22Sep98 tower survey. It appears a very small kill occurred across the region. A slow moving cold front passed over and northwesterly winds (5-10 mph) eventually developed. Cloud cover was variable and cloud ceiling heights typically ranged over 4000 feet above sea level (asl). Ground fog occurred in some areas chiefly in the southern part of our tower coverage area. Night flight calling was heard across the region but calling rates died down after 2AM. There were just a few thrushes heard coming down at dawn in the Syracuse area but Geo Kloppel heard steady thrush calling in W. Danby.
Dan Grossman from NPR's "Living on Earth" made a last minute journey over from Boston to cover our survey. He was doing a story on the towerkill problem. While driving from Bainbridge to Whitney Point between 1-2AM on rte. 206 we stopped in Coventry to listen for night flight calls. There was a thick ground fog there but stars were still visible above. We heard steady calling of thrushes and warblers. By 3AM we had arrived at two 1019-ft. towers SW of Syracuse and regular but lighter calling was heard. Most thrushes seemed to be calling from well above the towers but many warbler calls were loud and seemed to be coming from the vicinity of the towers - no birds were seen circling the towers. The cloud ceiling was higher than these towers which at their top are 2660 ft. asl.
In Arthur Clark's 30+ years of checking towers in the Buffalo area during fall migration, he has found that when skies are overcast and winds are northerly there is a good chance that some birds will strike his towers. In our first survey last week we had overcast skies but the cold front didn't pass over the region in time to produce northerly winds, and few birds were flying. In our 22Sep survey, the cold front passed across the region during the evening and we know birds were flying because their flight calls were heard. The cloud cover was light early but after midnight varied between 50-100%. The cloud ceiling was higher than the forecasted 2500-4000-ft. asl. This gave the birds plenty of space to fly above the towers. Next survey we will target a night with a cloud ceiling forecast to be below 2500-ft.
Dear Tower Survey Participants and Friends,
Below are the mortality data from our 22Sep98 tower survey. It appears a very small kill occurred across the region. A slow moving cold front passed over and northwesterly winds (5-10 mph) eventually developed. Cloud cover was variable and cloud ceiling heights typically ranged over 4000 feet above sea level (asl). Ground fog occurred in some areas chiefly in the southern part of our tower coverage area. Night flight calling was heard across the region but calling rates died down after 2AM. There were just a few thrushes heard coming down at dawn in the Syracuse area but Geo Kloppel heard steady thrush calling in W. Danby.
Dan Grossman from NPR's "Living on Earth" made a last minute journey over from Boston to cover our survey. He was doing a story on the towerkill problem. While driving from Bainbridge to Whitney Point between 1-2AM on rte. 206 we stopped in Coventry to listen for night flight calls. There was a thick ground fog there but stars were still visible above. We heard steady calling of thrushes and warblers. By 3AM we had arrived at two 1019-ft. towers SW of Syracuse and regular but lighter calling was heard. Most thrushes seemed to be calling from well above the towers but many warbler calls were loud and seemed to be coming from the vicinity of the towers - no birds were seen circling the towers. The cloud ceiling was higher than these towers which at their top are 2660 ft. asl.
In Arthur Clark's 30+ years of checking towers in the Buffalo area during fall migration, he has found that when skies are overcast and winds are northerly there is a good chance that some birds will strike his towers. In our first survey last week we had overcast skies but the cold front didn't pass over the region in time to produce northerly winds, and few birds were flying. In our 22Sep survey, the cold front passed across the region during the evening and we know birds were flying because their flight calls were heard. The cloud cover was light early but after midnight varied between 50-100%. The cloud ceiling was higher than the forecasted 2500-4000-ft. asl. This gave the birds plenty of space to fly above the towers. Next survey we will target a night with a cloud ceiling forecast to be below 2500-ft.
Height Location Surveyors #Fatalities
700 ft. tower south of Romulus - K. McGowan 0
850 ft. tower 3 miles WNW of Elmira - D. Russell 1
1019 ft.towers 6 miles SW of Syracuse - B. Evans, D. Grossman 0
934 ft. tower 4.5 miles SW of Binghamton - G. Kloppel 0
355 ft. tower 2 miles E of Ithaca - A. Kendall 1
964 ft. tower N of Pompey, NY - D. Crumb, B. Evans, D. Grossman, 2
185 ft. towers 1 miles NW of Newfield - C. Hanks, M. Medler, B. O'Shea 1*
420 ft. towers 3 miles NW of Trumansburg - M. Haribal, M. Pitzrick, 0
900+ ft towers south of Buffalo - A. Clark 2
306 ft. towers south of Ithaca - J. Confer, M. Hughes, S. Lamson, 0
200+ ft towers W of Rochester - J. Greenberg 0
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TOTAL 6
Species
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Ovenbird 2
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Brown Creeper 1
Unidentified 2 (warblers)
* - Brian OShea and Cullen Hanks found a skeleton and feathers of a Blackburnian Warbler under their tower. They hypothesize this bird could have been an old towerkill.
Bill Evans
Ithaca, NY
SURVEY RESULTS:
| September 22, 1998 |
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October 10, 1998 |
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September 22, 1999 |
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