A migration massacre occurred overnight.
Mother Nature suffered its own tragedy Wednesday night as hundreds of birds collided with the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC. It was around 9PM when birds started raining from the sky around pedestrians. A large collection of Chimney Swifts began flying into the northeast side of the building at full speed after which in a stunned state they fell to the sidewalk below.
Thankfully, the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue was called and they had arrived on the scene in less than 2 hours to begin a rescue and rehab operation. When all was said and done, more than 300 birds were recovered. Unfortunately around 100 birds were dead at the scene with another hundred or so suffering major injuries and broken bones. The remaining birds were just stunned and should be released soon.
The exact reasoning for the large bird strike is undetermined, but we reached out to an expert for some opinions. According to Dr. Jenna Moe DVM, a mixed animal and exotics veterinarian from the Vale Veterinary Hospital, it was likely a consequence of weather conditions, moon phases and migration patterns. “Birds have trouble seeing clean windows in perfect conditions. With a waning moon and passing clouds last night in the Charlotte area it was likely hard for the birds to see the glass on the building.” She continued, “The size of this incident is likely due to the yearly Chimney Swift Migration towards South America. The fact that Chimney Swifts rarely fly in large groups at night probably made things worse for the birds. Considering the species is vulnerable and the population is decreasing every year, it’s a tragedy to see this many birds dead and injured.”
As for the actual NASCAR Hall of Fame itself, we have received no reports of any serious damage to the building, and obviously the historic cars and memorabilia inside are still safe and secure.
In its reporting of the bird strike, Charlottestories.com shared some tips from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to reduce bird strikes. Some of these tips including putting netting and screens outside windows to make the windows stand out or catch birds before they hit the glass. Other tips include using stickers, post-it notes or other items to decorate and break up the window surface. In short, do what you can to make the window appear obvious to birds at speed.
