Fireworks are important elements of celebrations globally, but little is known about their effects on wildlife. In new research, scientists at the University of Amsterdam used weather radar and systematic bird counts to quantify how flight responses differed across habitats and corresponding bird communities, and determined the distance-dependence of this relationship. On average, approximately 1,000 times as many birds were in flight on New Year’s Eve than on other nights. They found that fireworks-related disturbance decreased with distance, most strongly in the first 5 km, but overall flight activity remained elevated tenfold at distances up to about 10 km. Communities of large-bodied species displayed a stronger response than communities of small-bodied species.
“We already knew that many water birds react strongly, but now we also see the effect on other birds throughout the Netherlands,” said lead author Dr. Bart Hoekstra, an ecologist at the University of Amsterdam.
“Birds take off as a result of an acute flight response due to sudden noise and light. In a country like the Netherlands, with many wintering birds, we are talking about millions of birds being affected by the lighting of fireworks.”
In 2022, scientists discovered that geese are so affected by fireworks that they spend an average of 10% longer looking for food than normal during at least the next 11 days.
They apparently need that time to replenish the lost energy or to compensate for the unknown foraging area in which they have ended up, after fleeing from the fireworks.
In the new study, Dr. Hoekstra and colleagues looked at which species take off after fireworks and when this occurs.
They used information from Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute weather radars during both a clear New Year’s Eve and on other normal nights.
They combined this with distribution data from Sovon, the Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, based on bird counts by hundreds of volunteers.
“We…
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