Every year, more than 5 thousand new communications towers
are erected throughout the United States. They’re needed for cell
phones,
television and radio stations and 911 networks. But at this time of
year,
these towers become deadly obstacles. It’s estimated millions of
migrating birds are killed each year when they collide with towers in
their
flight path. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports,
there’s a growing consensus that something needs to be done:
Tag: migration
Problem Geese Headed for Soup Kitchens
Canadian geese can easily be found alongside roadways or in suburban
neighborhoods at numbers far greater than a decade ago. Each year
millions of the birds migrate north through the Mississippi Fly-Way
settling in the Great Lakes region, leaving states grappling with ways
to control hordes of geese. In Ohio, a new plan is underway to use
so-called problem geese as food for soup kitchens. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:
B-T Corn Research Heads Into Field
In a recent issue of the journal, Nature, Cornell researchers released a
report claiming that pollen from a genetically engineered, or BT, corn
has a deadly effect on the monarch butterfly. But industry
representatives criticized the results, saying the lab-work didn’t
duplicate a real-life scenario. So now, Cornell scientists are heading
into the field for more research. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
David Hammond has more:
Warmer Winters Drive Songbirds North
Each year, many of us look forward to the return of familiar birds at
the feeder. But a new study has found warmer temperatures are causing
birds like chickadees and larks to find new homes. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Whooping Cranes Find a Home
Wisconsin could become the first state in the eastern U-S to host a
nesting area for migrating whooping cranes. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Buildings Pose Threat to Bird Migration
Each Spring, nearly five billion migratory birds make their way back to North America after spending the winter south. But only about half of all birds survive the journey. And while millions die of exhaustion or starvation, many other birds die from less natural causes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel reports:
Lamprey Eel Control
A new strategy to fight the lamprey eel should mean higher fish populations in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson reports on this break-through:
Commercial Lamprey Harvest May Soon End
A program to control the invasion of exotic species has got the lamprey eel under control throughout the Great Lakes…everywhere except the St. Mary’s River. But now, the lamprey are the target of a new time-release chemical that should reduce the lamprey population by 85-percent. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson reports, bringing the species under control will mean the end to a recent money-making experiment: