Avian Mortality At Communication Towers: A Review of Recent Literature, Research, and Methodology

This report is a review of the most recent literature, research, and other efforts to understand the avian-communication tower collision issue from 1995 to the present. It was commissioned by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of their new Communication Tower Working Group (Working Group or CTWG) initiative. The report summarizes the literature, as well as research that is now in progress and reports that may soon be published. It also identifies the most active researchers working on the towerkill issue. Research topics included in this review are avian fatality studies at communication towers, the role of lighting and electromagnetic radiation and radio frequencies in avian collisions with communication towers, orientation and navigation behavior of migrants around communication towers, and methodologies used to study the towerkill problem. In addition, it summarizes recent studies from the wind power industry that are relevant.