Bird backlash: NYC says drone show will continue as planned despite peak migration season

A sprawling drone show over New York’s Central Park will proceed as planned despite outcries from habitat-protection advocates about its potential impact on bird migration, the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation told Fast Company on Friday.

Bird lovers at NYC Audubon have asked for the light-producing spectacle to be postponed, calling it a “very bad idea” because it will cause dangerous conditions for the park’s winged friends. “Could we move this to after fall migration?” the group inquired in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

City Council member Gale Brewer, who represents Manhattan’s Upper West Side, also called for the event to be canceled.

But that’s not likely, according to city parks officials.

“While we respect New Yorkers’ concerns, we have been in close contact with the organizer of this weekend’s event, and they are complying with the new city guidelines governing the use of drones,” a department spokesperson told Fast Company. “As Parks works with its sister agencies to operationalize this policy, we intend to work with all relevant partners, including wildlife experts. We look forward to a successful and memorable show this Saturday.”

The Franchise Freedom drone show, a first for Central Park, will include 1,000 drones flying in formation at 10-minute intervals on Saturday night. It’s the brainchild of an Amsterdam-based studio called Drift. The free show is being described as the biggest public arts project to take place in the famous park since Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates almost two decades ago.

Drift did not reply to a request for comment.

As many bird lovers are pointing out, New York City is located on the Atlantic Flyway, a path for migratory birds, with the peak fall migration season typically lasting until mid-October. Central Park, perhaps ironically, is a favorite spot for bird-watchers, hundreds of whom flock to the iconic Manhattan green space to marvel at the feathered creatures during peak seasons.

Artificial light is already a serious problem for birds, with an estimated 600 million being killed by buildings each year. An online petition to halt the drone show has collected more than 400 signatures as of late Friday.