Crandall Library mulls bird safety but hopes 2024 cedar waxwing die-off was ‘fluke’

By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer

Last May 4, 19 cedar waxwings were found dead at the base of a large window in front of Crandall Public Library.

Tests conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation determined the cause of death to be blunt impact trauma. A DEC spokesperson told The Chronicle the birds “likely collided into windows that were reflecting images of the sky or trees.”

With spring migration approaching, The Chronicle asked Crandall Library Director Kathy Naftaly if the library has taken any steps to protect birds.

She said the library just finished an architectural study including “some mitigation for potential bird strikes.”

Ms. Naftaly said, “There’s a variety of paths that were basically suggested last year at the time of the study, so we’re going to see as we work with architects into this fiscal year what we can purposely do that will work both for the birds and the aesthetics for the building….We want to be responsible both to nature and our bottom line.”

Ms. Naftaly said they’ve had no more bird strikes since the 2024 incident.

“I think it was a fluke,” she said. “I’ve been here 20 years and that’s the first time that has ever happened. I don’t feel good about it. But it certainly seems to be an aberration rather than a pattern.”

Ms. Naftaly said that after The Chronicle coverage last spring, “There were several people that did reach out to us, of course, but it’s been very quiet since.”

“The bird questions we get are when the crows or ravens are roosting in the trees on our property, which they occasionally do,” she said.

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