Birds face numerous human-made perils on their survival, ranging from collisions with structures and poisoning by pesticides to attacks by pet felines who are allowed to roam outdoors, despite pleas by conservationists to keep them inside.  And they’re further imperiled by loss of habitat areas crucial for breeding and wintering, due to encroachment by human development. But perhaps the most horrifying fate you could imagine for migratory birds would be flying into the range of a giant flame.

Sadly, that’s exactly what happened last weekend, when between 5,000 and 10,000 migrating songbirds were killed when they apparently flew too close to a burning flare at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Saint John, New Brunswick, according to