NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Nearly 300 migratory birds died after they crashed into the World Trade Center towers earlier this week, according to a new report.
Melissa Breyer, a volunteer bird collision monitor with New York City Audubon, told the New York Post at least 291 songbirds flew into the buildings' reflective glass overnight Monday and into Tuesday.
Breyer found the birds dead outside One, Three, Four and Seven World Trade Centers, she said.
Some of the 226 dead birds I picked up this morning while window collision monitoring for @NYCAudubon. 205 from @3NYWTC and @4WTC alone. Many others swept up, inaccessible, or too mangled to collect. 30 injured to @wildbirdfund. If you're in NYC today, be careful where you step. pic.twitter.com/RTjm82NIpy
— Melissa Breyer (@MelissaBreyer) September 14, 2021
"I was totally shocked," she told the outlet. "I looked around, and it was like a nightmare."
She and other advocates are urging the buildings to turn off their lights at night, or place decals on the buildings' or treat the glass facades to deter birds from flying into them, according to the outlet.
Counting the dead birds on @_WTCOfficial awnings that I couldn't collect; add another 35, + the 30 who went to @wildbirdfund making my documented total 291 between WTC 1, 3, 4, 7. That number excludes the swept & smashed ones. I understand they continued coming thru the morning.
— Melissa Breyer (@MelissaBreyer) September 15, 2021
A spokeswoman for Silverstein Properties, which operates the towers, told the Post the company cares "deeply for wild birds and protecting their habitat in the five boroughs."
"Understanding that artificial night-time lighting in general can attract and disorient migrating birds, we are actively encouraging our office tenants to turn off their lights at night and lower their blinds whenever possible, especially during the migratory season," she said.
One World Trade Center spokesman Jordan Barowitz, meanwhile, told the outlet the "first 200 feet" of the building "are encased in glass fins that are non-reflective."
