A wild video is going viral after more than 300 birds reportedly crashed into windows at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to the Charlotte Observer, more than 300 migrating chimney swifts flew into the windows before crashing to the ground. A witness told the paper that they saw more than 100 dead birds falling after the collision.
Several hundreds of other birds suffered “severely injured with broken wings, legs or other fractures.”
Here is a wild video of the aftermath at the scene.
You know it had to be a wild scene when the sky opens up and birds start falling at an alarming rate.
Another witness claimed that the birds were flying into the building walls and windows for nearly an hour. An observer in the background could be heard saying: “Don’t let them hit you. There’s something wrong with them. It’s a whole flock. That’s odd.”
Audubon North Carolina issued a statement and is reportedly working with the NASCAR Hall of Fame to prevent any further incidents of this nature.
“It’s unusual for Chimney Swifts to collide with windows. Audubon volunteers have documented this a few times in North Carolina cities, but only one bird at a time – not a large-scale event like this one,” a statement from senior network manager Kim Brand read. “It’s also odd that these swifts were out last night after 9 p.m. Normally, even during migration, Chimney Swifts go to roost in a chimney for the night around dusk. Yesterday, the sun set around 7 p.m.
“We recommend that the NASCAR Hall of Fame turn out all lights this evening and through mid-November to protect swifts and other birds migrating south for the winter.”
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue is working to help the injured birds recover.
Hopefully future flocks of birds will be more careful in the future, because you should always keep an eye out for those pesky windows.