30 October 2014

Bird Tragedies of Late-October Days at Omaha

With an expectation of changing weather in some subsequent days, some particular attention was given to survey the situation associated with bird-window strikes at numerous buildings in downtown Omaha, just west of the Missouri River.

The weekend of October 25-26 started the norm of a routine, well known. There were no records of bird-window strikes, along the usual route on three days earlier in the week, the days being Monday (October 20th), Wednesday (22nd) and on Friday (the 24th which was a morning of an irksome OMetro bus whose driver would not yield, once and again another time, ending with a point made near the cemetery further westward along Leavenworth Street) when there were low-lying, foggy-type of clouds, and steady southerly winds. The usual route was followed so there was nothing different associated with the survey effort as done a few hundred times previously. These were just a few of many days when there were no findings during the past years when surveys have been done, yet there has never been any data-record kept for the bicycle effort on mornings when there were no bird carcasses found.

On Saturday morning, there were several instances of dead birds at downtown Omaha buildings. These are the particulars, as found during an early morning bicycle survey on October 25th, when there was not much wind.

  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: Savannah Sparrow, carcass ten feet north of convention center entrance
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: Savannah Sparrow, carcass 15 feet north of convention center entrance
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: Savannah Sparrow, disabled bird 20 feet north of convention center entrance
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: White-throated Sparrow, carcass one foot north of second from north entrance
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: Cooper's Hawk, dead juvenile next to pigeon at the south end of the west facade, just south of the convention center entrance
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: Rock Pigeon; dead, next to Cooper's Hawk carcass, at the south end of the west facade, just south of the convention center entrance
  • American National Bank: White-throated Sparrow; carcass on the south side, about 20 feet from the east corner

The occurrence of birds struck dead by flying into glass walls of buildings in downtown Omaha continued on Sunday. There were more fatalities found on the second day of the weekend, October 26th, as indicated by the following details.


  • TD Ameritrade Park: Dark-eyed Junco, one of two disabled birds on the south side, just north of the 12th and Fahey Street intersection
  • TD Ameritrade Park: Dark-eyed Junco, one of two disabled birds on the south side, just north of the 12th and Fahey Street intersection
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: Savannah Sparrow, one of two dead birds, one on bench about 30 feet north of the second from north entrance
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: Savannah Sparrow, one of two dead birds by bench about 30 feet north of the second from north entrance
  • CenturyLink Center Omaha: Clay-colored Sparrow, dead about ten feet south of the second from north entrance
  • 1200 Landmark Center: Lincoln's Sparrow, carcass on the sidewalk at the west side entrance
  • Central Park Plaza: Dark-eyed Junco, carcass at the plaza by the north entrance of the south tower
  • Gavilon Building: Savannah Sparrow, carcass on the west side, about ten feet from the north corner
  • Omaha-Douglas Civic Center: Grasshopper Sparrow, carcass on the north side of the atrium, about ten feet from the east corner

On Monday morning, with light winds prevailing and which were hardly noticeable at the time of my outing, a vividly colored sparrow was found dead at the doorway of a place associated with the Slowdown complex in north Downtown.


  • Urban Outfitters at the north downtown Slowdown complex: Fox Sparrow, carcass on the west side of the store, by the main entrance

Another instance for this period of time is for Tuesday, October 28th. A disabled Savannah Sparrow was noted at the CenturyLink Center Omaha, a short time after sunrise.


As the weather changed to more of a typical autumn regime on October 27-28, the subsequent few days may be times for more bird deaths among the buildings of downtown Omaha as more wildbirds migrate southward.