I am uncertain about the effect of light pollution upon insect-eating
birds, but it reminded me of a "wreck" I saw of Sooty Shearwaters at
Westport, Washington in late August-early September of 1981. Dozens
(hundreds?) of shearwaters had struck power wires, buildings, boat masts,
etc in the Westport harbor area during a foggy, calm night.

Now I wonder - why would shearwaters fly at night? They seem to be
sight-feeders, pursuing their prey, which would not be to their advantage
at night. Having read of accounts of bird strikes at the old lighthouses
indicates that a number of our seabirds are active at night and are
attracted to lights.


On Mon, 27 Mar 1995 Mike Waller, MWKG at aol.com wrote:

> This made me wonder about night feeding of birds, particularly insect eating
> ones. Will the change from mercury to sodium affect behavior, density.

> Mike Waller
> Woodland Park Zoo
> MWKG at aol.com
>