Scientists Call for Fireworks-Free Zones to Protect Birds

The fact that loud noises like fireworks on the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve affect wildlife should come as no surprise. New research has found that the mass use of New Year’s Eve fireworks can cause birds to use precious energy stores as they flee from the loud sounds, even more than six miles from the source.

Using bird counts and weather radar data, an international research team discovered how many birds immediately take off following the start of fireworks, how far away they are and which species typically do so, a press release from the University of Amsterdam said.

“The synchronized and extraordinary use of fireworks on New Year’s Eve triggers strong flight responses in birds,” the authors of the study wrote. “When human activity is predictable in time and space, animals can shift their activity patterns to reduce overlap with human activity. Although certain species have a marked capacity to co-exist alongside humans, unpredictable anthropogenic disturbances (such as an approaching human or aircraft, or a sudden noise) commonly lead to flight responses similar to those elicited by predation risk.”

Based on their findings, the researchers are advocating for extensive fireworks-free zones.

“We already knew that many water birds react strongly, but now we also see the effect on other birds throughout the Netherlands,” said Bart Hoekstra, an ecologist at the University of Amsterdam, in the press release.

The study, “Fireworks disturbance across bird communities,” was published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

On the last night of the year, 1,000 times more birds on average are flying close to where fireworks have been set off than on other nights, the research team found. The numbers peak at 10,000 to 100,000 times more than those of a typical night. The strongest effects were seen within the first 3.1 miles or so of the fireworks, but a minimum of ten times more birds on average were flying than normal up to 6.21 miles away.

“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,” Hoekstra said.

Last year, another research team at the University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics found that fireworks also affect geese, and that they spend 10 percent longer on average foraging for food for at least 11 days after fireworks are over. The extra time is needed to replenish the energy they lost fleeing the fireworks or to compensate for the unfamiliar foraging area where they ended up following the disturbance.

The study examined which species flee following fireworks and when this happens. The researchers used information gathered from weather radars at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute on normal nights as well as on a New Year’s Eve when the weather was clear. This data was combined with information from the Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology — Sovon — which is based on bird counts conducted by hundreds of volunteers.

“We already knew that many water birds react strongly, but it was still unclear how birds outside these waterbodies react to fireworks. Through the counts we know exactly where which birds are and using the radar images we can see where they actually take off because of fireworks,” Hoekstra said in the press release.

The team found that in the Herwijnen and Den Helder study areas, nearly 400,000 birds immediately took off when New Year’s Eve fireworks began. They also discovered that larger birds, especially in open areas, circle around for hours afterward at astonishing altitudes.

“Larger birds such as geese, ducks and gulls fly to a height of hundreds of metres due to the large-scale discharge of fireworks and remain in the air for up to an hour. There is a risk that they will end up in bad winter weather, or that they will not know where they are flying due to panic and accidents could occur,” Hoekstra said.

Sixty-two percent of all birds living in the Netherlands are within a 1.55-mile radius of inhabited areas, which means the repercussions of fireworks are great for all the country’s birds.

“Flying requires a lot of energy, so ideally birds should be disturbed as little as possible during the cold winter months. Measures to ensure this are especially important in open areas such as grasslands, where many larger birds spend the winter. The effects of fireworks on birds are less pronounced near forests and semi-open habitats. In addition, smaller birds such as tits and finches live there, which are less likely to fly away from disturbance,” Hoekstra explained.

Fireworks-free zones are needed in areas that are home to large birds, the authors of the study argue.

“These buffer zones could be smaller in areas where light and sound travel less far, such as near forests. Furthermore, fireworks should mainly be lit at central locations in built-up areas, as far away from birds as possible. It would be best for birds if we moved towards light shows without sound, such as drone shows or decorative fireworks without very loud bangs,” Hoekstra added.