All quiet at the Tribute in Light

By Yigal Gelb. Pictures by Yigal Gelb and Nicole Delacretaz.

On the evening of September 11, 2006, NYC Audubon staff and volunteers made their way to a parking garage in downtown Manhattan. Passing through security guards and various production people, we reached the top floor which housed the enormous lights that generate the two light columns of the Tribute in Light. As evening turned into night, the distinct columns of light that recreated the shape of the fallen towers slowly became visible. Despite the magic of the moment, the ghost-like towers reminded us of the tragic events that took place only five years ago at this same location.

But we were not there to only marvel and mourn. We were on a mission to monitor this event and make sure that the strong beams did not harm migrating birds as they passed over the city. Light has long been known to cause bird fatalities at communication towers and several tall buildings, such as the Empire State Building. In previous years, our monitoring of this event also documented large numbers of birds circling the columns of light.

This time around we were happy to find very few birds circling the lights. The first bird was spotted at 8:20 pm, and from about 9:00 to 10:00 pm there were 50-100 birds circling the lights. This number fell continuously, and by 11:00 pm there was hardly a bird to be seen. Despite winds from the north, which provide migrating birds with a much needed "push," relatively few birds were migrating over the city that night. Additionally, as reported by Rebekah Creshkoff, the birds that were migrating that night were steered clear of the lights by a very visible moon.

NYC Audubon wishes to thank all the volunteers who helped with the monitoring of this event.

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