Experts estimate that there are 80,000 towers in the United States, with about 5,000 built each year. That is what scares ornithologists. With the unprecedented growth of the towers in the communications industry . They're being destroyed by all these discrete methods. The songbirds are overall in a serious decline.
Birds whack into towers during spring or fall migration periods.
When it is overcast, the light from the communications towers reflects off the clouds at night. The birds get confused. They shut off their normal nighttime navigation system and fly toward the light. But while bird scientists are convinced that the towers are causing major mischief, they are a long way from being able to do anything about it. Officials at the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the companies that use and build the towers, and the Federal Aviation Administration, which requires that towers more than 200 feet tall have lights, say they want to work with bird experts.