I blinked and suddenly everyone is trying to convince me that it’s already fall. 

Trader Joe’s, the surest harbinger of seasons, has already lined their aisles with pumpkin bread and red and orange leaf-shaped pasta. My inbox is full of newsletters and ads proclaiming the death of summer, despite all evidence, temperature-wise, to the contrary. My boyfriend proclaims it is fall, preferring not to wait until the autumnal equinox to mark that first day.

Sure, the nights are cooler. But there’s only one thing that’ll convince me of the change in seasons, at least until I must wear my jean jacket at least a few times a week: bird migration!

Every fall, millions of migratory birds backtrack their long spring journey to head south for the winter. Migration is already well underway in the skies above New York City. Many birds kicked off their flight in August, and the number of birds flying overhead each night will only increase over the next month.

Cornell Lab’s BirdCast, which tells you how many birds migrated through your area each night, is a fun way to track migration. Each night this week, BirdCast reported, thousands of birds passed over Brooklyn.

Birdwatchers will tell you that this is one of the best times to try your hand at it: At peak migration, there are many more birds than usual taking refuge in our parks and green spaces. And more exciting birds, too, like the striking scarlet tanager, the ruby-throated hummingbird, and all kinds of birds of prey. 

But it’s also one of the most dangerous times of year for birds. (Can you imagine traveling thousands of miles by foot with no gear?) And climate change, bringing unreliable temperatures and weather patterns, is making the journey even riskier. 

New York City is an especially dangerous stop on the Atlantic Flyway. Last year, a record high of at least 1,250 birds were killed just by striking buildings in the city during their fall migration, according to the NYC Bird Alliance. Blown in by winds or drawn into the heart of the city by artificial lights, birds can mistake reflective windows for open air and fly headfirst into them. 

There are easy ways to make buildings safer for birds, like installing bird-safe glass — which is now mandatory for all new buildings and major renovations under 2020’s NYC Local Law 15. Groups like the NYC Bird Alliance are at the forefront of efforts to make New York safer for birds.

In the meantime, you can make your own home safer for birds. Affix decals (available in various places online, or make your own) to your windows to help birds avoid them. 

Turn off any nonessential lights at night to avoid confusing birds who depend on the stars and moon for nighttime navigation. The national Lights Out campaign advocates for just that. The beams of the 9/11 memorial “Tribute in Light” are now even monitored for confused birds and turned off for short periods of time for this same reason. 

Don’t feed birds, and report any injured birds to organizations like the Wild Bird Fund, which just opened its first Brooklyn location in Park Slope this summer. 

Meanwhile, enjoy the flashes of tropical colors passing through our city as sunlight wanes — and enjoy this special bird edition of Bluedot Living Brooklyn in their honor!

– Ella Spungen, Editor, Bluedot Living Brooklyn

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When Flaco, the beloved Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo in 2023, was found unresponsive in February 2024, volunteers from the Wild Bird Fund rushed to the scene, transferring him to their rehabilitation center on the Upper West Side.

The owl had flown into an apartment building on West 89th Street, landing in the courtyard below. Striking the building may have officially killed Flaco, but he was already extremely weakened by the time of the fatal flight.

Examiners who performed a necropsy on Flaco's body one month after his death found deadly levels of rat poison in his system. He'd been exposed to four anticoagulant rodenticides, which stop blood from clotting. The chemicals have been used to control the city's rat population for decades.

Flaco was not the only NYC bird who suffered this fate. A staggering 84% of dead birds of prey found in New York City had detectable anticoagulant rat poison in their systems, according to research by the Wildlife Unit of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Learn about a proposed law that would reduce the use of these pesticides to protect birds of prey.

Dear Dot,
Pigeons are ruining my ability to enjoy my balcony. They perch on a ledge above, so poop is everywhere. I don’t like the idea of using those pointy sharp metal things to discourage them; is there a less nasty way to get them to leave my balcony alone?
– Dawn

Dear Dawn, 
One option is to attach slanted wood or metal sheathing (aka “birdslides”) on ledges to prevent pigeons from landing on them. While the idea of watching birds play on a slide sounds like a blast, it doesn’t actually happen, and pigeons, it seems, are party-poopers, so it will keep them away. This tool might seem a little more polite than bird spikes. 

There’s also “bird wire,” which is a thin wire suspended between a series of small posts on surfaces where birds might land. When pigeons try to land on the ledge, they land on the wires instead, which feel unstable to them, prompting the prodigious poopers to fly elsewhere. 

Read on to learn what you absolutely shouldn’t do.

Got a question for Dot? Write her at [email protected].

The Bluedot Brooklyn newsletter is edited by Ella Spungen. If you have any questions, suggestions, ideas, or want to tell us what you’re doing, email [email protected].