are birds dying because of mobile phones

On the internet, there is often a fine line between a healthy skepticism of new technologies and blatant misinformation. The recent claim that the radio waves from 5G cellular communication towers are causing mass bird die-offs is a perfect example of just how thin that line can be—and how quickly falsehoods can spread across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and even in the comments of Audubon magazines stories.

The origin of this claim is as head-spinning as it is instructive, so lets untangle the knot: Does 5G really kill birds, and if not, why are so many people shouting about it online?

The first part of this saga is fairly straightforward: No, 5G—the fifth generation of our mobile cellular network—does not kill birds. “Radio wave emissions above 10 MHz from radio transmission antennas (including cell telephone towers) are not known to harm birds,” says Joe Kirschvink, a biophysicist at the California Institute of Technology who specializes in magnetics, in an email.

Krischvink isn’t just an expert on such matters—he was also involved in a related study that has proven prescient. In 2014, Kirschvink, at the same time as another group of biologists in Germany, found that low-level magnetic radiation, such as AM radio waves, could interfere with migratory birds ability to orient themselves using the Earths magnetic field. Although the researchers found that the birds were still able to compensate, they proposed restricting the use of the AM frequency band.

Aware of how this research and the resulting proposal might be interpreted by the general public, Kirschvink issued a strong disclaimer in his study: “Modern-day charlatans will undoubtedly seize on this study as an argument for banning the use of mobile phones, despite the different frequency bands involved,” he wrote.

Despite Kirschvinks clear warning, the claims that cellular radio waves kill birds spread nonetheless. The blame for that, however, doesnt fall on Kirschvink and his peers, but rather one “UFO researcher” posting on Facebook.

The “5G kills birds” phenomenon was started by John Kuhles, who according to the fact-checking site Snopes, “runs several anti-5G conspiracy websites and social media pages.” In a Facebook post last year, Kuhles claimed that a recent mass die-off of European Starlings in the Netherlands was caused by a 5G antenna test. Despite the fact that the local municipality never named a cause for the die-off, and the fact that the test Kuhles cites happened months before the die-off occurred, other Facebook pages and health blogs nonetheless picked up the post.

Things got weirder and even more obfuscated when Indian sci-fi blockbuster 2.0, currently the highest-budgeted Tamil-language film ever made, hit cinemas just days later. Apart from being a parable about how technology is ruining our lives, 2.0 specifically depicts electromagnetic radiation from cell towers wiping out bird populations, validating Kuhles crackpot theory. “Following the release of ‘2.0’, which revolves around a plot depicting harmful effects of EMF radiation on birds, Indian news organisations, mostly Tamil media, published stories on the movie by adding the ‘birds died in The Netherlands due to 5G’ bit,” reported Indian fact-checking outlet Alt News.

How do communication towers impact migratory birds?

Approximately 7 million birds perish annually as a result of crashes with communication towers during the night. The majority of birds that crash into towers are night-migrating songbirds making their way to and from warmer wintertime climates.

Let’s untangle the knot: Does 5G really kill birds, and if not, why are so many people shouting about it online? The origin of this claim is as confusing as it is instructive.

Of course, it didnt stop there. Fans of 2.0 then found a 2012 YouTube video in which University of Southern California professor Travis Longcore discusses his study finding that communication towers kill 6.8 million birds annually. Dozens of comments on the video either cite the movie directly, or mention that 2.0s director, S. Shankar, “sent them here.” Contrary to 2.0s plot, however, Longcores research attributed these bird deaths to the disorienting lights used on communication towers, not the electromagnetic radiation they emit.

Physicist Bill Curry, who was a consultant for the school district, concluded that WiFi signals operating in the Ghz spectrum would be dangerous after citing a chart demonstrating that brain tissue absorbs more radiation as radio frequency increases. He was wrong. The Times claims that as radio frequencies rise, our skin filters them out, making radio waves safer (up to a certain point). Unfortunately, no one caught Currys error.

“People have observed for a very long time that nocturnally migrating birds are attracted to lights at night and its exacerbated during periods of bad weather,” he told NPR in 2012. “It leaves them circling these towers that they encounter and running into either the guide wires on the towers, each other, ending up on the ground and taken by predators.”

Why do birds collide with communication towers?

Although the exact cause of bird collisions with towers is unknown, studies have shown that birds are more at risk when towers:

Are lit with non-flashing lights at night
Have guy wires for support
Are taller than 350 feet
Are located in areas with inclement weather
are found where a lot of migratory birds are flying close by.
are situated near ridgelines, which draws migratory birds nearer to towering structures.

FAQ

Are birds attracted to cell phone towers?

Everyone knows that cell towers kill birds. (One study estimates 6.8 million per year!* ) But what I doubt many people realize is that cell towers have a very unique vulture problem. Vultures love cell towers!

How do cell towers affect wildlife?

How do communication towers impact migratory birds? Each year, nearly 7 million birds die due to night-time collisions with communication towers. Most of the birds that collide with towers are night migrating songbirds on their journeys to and from warmer climates for the winter.

Why are vultures attracted to cell phone towers?

—Communication towers provide attractive roost sites for Black (Coragyps atratus) and Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura). The birds’ roosting activity creates problems, however, for tower operators, nearby businesses, and adjacent homeowners.

Do mobile towers affect humans?

Cell phone towers are still relatively new, and many people are understandably concerned about whether the RF waves they give off might possibly have health effects. At this time, there’s no strong evidence that exposure to RF waves from cell phone towers causes any noticeable health effects.