Subject: Re: Birds at night
Date: Mar 27 18:26:52 1995
From: Dennis Paulson - dpaulson at ups.edu


Jon Anderson wrote:

>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.

Sooty Shearwaters feed on squid commonly, and many species of squids come
closer to the surface at night, so I wouldn't be surprised if Sooties (and
many other seabirds) feed at night. There is a lot of evidence to support
nocturnal feeding in tube-nosed birds, both albatrosses and petrels.
Bright lights obviously screw up birds adapted for seeing in the dark.

What else do they have to do out there at night, with no taverns, concerts,
basketball games, or bird classes?

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416