Not a rare siting, but a rare circumstance of which you should all be aware.  

Along the Lake there is currently an extremely thick fog. Tonight also happened to coincide with 
a fairly large bird migration that could contain a number of southern overshoots. On the 
modified marine radar I operate at the lakeshore of Ottawa NWR I could see that the vast 
majority of birds flying in this fog were headed south and were flying relatively low. 

This confluence of very poor visibility, elevated migration volume, and reverse migration all 
indicate an extremely high risk of birds running into tall structures such as towers or buildings. 
This risk is especially elevated if the towers are guyed and constantly lit with navigation lights 
(as opposed to blinking or fading on/off lights) or if the building is lit up or it's office lights are left 
on. If you can, keep from turning on all the lights in your house if you are in a dense fog near 
the lake, as birds can still hone in on even a single-story house's lights. 

If you are so inclined this may be an opportunity to assess the periodic impact that a tall 
structure in your neighborhood may be having. You can photo document whatever casualties 
you may find, however be aware that unless you have a salvage permit it is illegal to pick up 
and possess a migratory bird carcass. If you do have such a permit please note in the 
provenance that it was a tower or building strike along with the regular location-date-collector 
information. Any information we can put together about the impacts of this rare event will be 
greatly useful. 

If you have any questions or documentation of apparent tower or building strikes please relay 
them to me at [log in to unmask]

Jeremy D. Ross, PhD.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio 43403

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