Millions of birds lost energy due to New Year’s Eve fireworks, study shows

Birds are affected by the use of fireworks on New Year’s Eve up to a distance of 10 kilometers. With data from weather radar and bird counting, an international team of researchers showed how many birds fly as soon as the fire starts, how far this happens, and which species are most likely to respond.

“We already know that many birds are active, but now we are also seeing effects on other birds throughout the Netherlands,” said Bart Hoekstra, an ecologist at the University of Amsterdam. In the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environmentso researchers argue for large fire-free zones.

On New Year’s Eve, there are about 1,000 times as many birds in the air near the fireworks as on other nights, with peaks of 10,000 to 100,000. time than the normal number of birds. The effects are strongest within the first 5 km of the fire, but up to 10 km, there is still an average of at least ten times as many birds as usual .

“The birds leave because of a quick response from flying due to sudden noise and light. In a country like the Netherlands, with many winter birds, we are talking about millions the birds are involved in lighting the fireworks,” Hoekstra said.

Weather radar and birds

Last year, other researchers at IBED found that geese are very sensitive to fires and spend an average of 10% longer looking for food than usual at least another 11 days . It seems that they need that time to replenish the lost energy or to compensate for the unknown location of the food that ended up when they escaped from the fire.

Hoekstra’s research looked at which brands go away after words and when this happens. He used information from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute weather radars on the clear night of the New Year and other normal nights. He combined this with distribution information from Sovon-the Dutch Center for Field Ornithology-based on the number of birds by hundreds of volunteers.

“We’ve known for a long time that many waterfowl have very strong responses, but it’s not clear how animals outside of these areas respond to fires. it’s gone because of fireworks.” Using the data, Hoekstra was able to estimate how many birds leave immediately after the start of the fire, how far this happens, and which species are common. then answer.

Fear of the air

The analysis shows that in the research areas around the radar in Den Helder and Herwijnen alone, there are almost 400,000 animals fly to speed up the start of the fireworks on New Year’s Eve. In addition, it seems that large birds in open areas, in particular, fly around for several hours after finishing and at high altitudes.

According to Hoekstra, “Large birds such as geese, ducks, and gulls fly at a height of hundreds of meters due to the large discharge of fire and stay in the air for an hour. There are the danger will end. up in bad winter weather, or they don’t know where to fly because of anxiety and accidents happen.”

‘Restrict fireworks in public areas’

Since 62% of all birds in the Netherlands live within a radius of 2.5 kilometers of residential areas, the consequences of fires are high for all birds in the country.

“Flying requires a lot of energy, and at best, the birds should be disturbed as little as possible during the cold winter months. Measures to ensure this are very important in open areas such as grasses, where many large birds spend the winter.The effects of fireworks on birds are less prominent near forests and areas that cannot be opened.

The authors argue for fire-free zones in bird habitats. According to Hoekstra, “These barriers can be small in places where light and sound are not too far away, such as near forests. In addition, fires should be lit in central areas in places installed, away from birds. It’s best for birds when we move to light displays without sound, such as drone displays or decorations without being too loud.”