Why care if some birds die at TV towers?
Birds are critical links in native ecosystems. Wild birds pollinate plants, distribute seeds and eat enormous numbers of insects. According to the Ornithological Council, on average, a pair of adult warblers removes caterpillars from more than a million leaves in the two to three weeks from the time the pair’s young hatch until they leave the nest. This behavior provides enormous benefits to forestry and agriculture. Birds are big business. While broadcast and wireless technologies take up a lot of people’s leisure time, money, and support highly competitive industries, birds and birding also involve a lot of people and pack a financial wallop in Wisconsin and nationally. The 1996 federal Fish and Wildlife Service outdoor recreational survey reports that more than 1.65 million Wisconsin residents over age 16 participated actively in wildlife watching, photography, bird-feeding and maintaining natural areas for wildlife. Most of this activity was directed toward birds. The dollar amount
