Posted on July 20, 2022 by Hunter Hulbert - Community

Startled by the sound of a loud thud against a glass window of your home, you go outside to    see the cause of the commotion, only to find a tiny sparrow dead in the mulch. While you feel terrible for the accident, you toss it up to being just that — an unfortunate, but rare fate for the small songbird.  

However, bird-building collisions (as they are called) are the second-most common, human-induced cause of death among birds. Primarily hitting clear or reflective windows, bird-building collisions cause an estimated minimum of 365 bird deaths in the United States every year, according to a study published in ornithological research journal, Condor .    

Primarily hitting clear or reflective windows, bird-building collisions cause between an estimated minimum of 365 bird deaths in the United States every year. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

During the day, birds strike windows because they believe the reflection to be a reality of open space to fly — not a barrier. Because many songbirds migrate at night, they are attracted to the bright lights of urban areas. The lights disorient the birds, prompting them to fly in circles around the light source and, ultimately, cause them to drop in exhaustion, later hitting a building in the early morning light.   

To decrease bird-building mortality, buildings can use less-reflective glass, including opaque panes, panes covered in visible patterns or panes covered in vinyl films so they appear opaque on one side and clear on the other. Additionally, integrating special lighting systems and shutting lights off in and around buildings at night significantly cuts down bird crashes, many studies have shown.    

In March 2021, U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced the Bird Safe Buildings Act, which would require all newly built, acquired or significantly altered federal buildings to include “bird-safe” design features and building materials. Quigley first introduced the bill to Congress in 2010, and it is now in its sixth version with the House of Representatives. Cities such as San Francisco and Oakland have passed legislation requiring bird-friendly building codes, but, to date, there are no such laws in New Jersey.  

While the country waits for the bird-friendly standards to be passed for public buildings, or new laws to be created at a state or local level, bird advocates within New Jersey are working hard to prevent window strikes. Part of the Atlantic Flyway, millions of birds pass through the Garden State during fall and spring migration. With much of the Eastern Seaboard urbanized, bird-friendly solutions will prevent millions of annual bird fatalities.  

An ovenbird stands in a rehab box at The Raptor Trust after injuring its wing in a building collision. Photo courtesy of The Raptor Trust

In 2016, a group of New Jersey Audubon volunteers noticed a high number of dead or injured birds along the ground near Newark’s tall, glass PSEG building. Once the utility company became aware of the problem, they quickly partnered with New Jersey Audubon and funded a project that would evaluate and reduce the collisions.  

In the spring of 2017 and the fall of 2018 and 2020, a team of New Jersey Audubon technicians and volunteers surveyed for birds that had struck windows around 12 large buildings in downtown Newark. Over several months, the team examined the area in the early mornings, when collisions most often occur, and circled each building three times. They documented the species and location of all dead and injured birds, as well as the weather, to create a geographic information system (GIS) database and account for patterns.   

Led by New Jersey Audubon Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Nellie Tsipoura, this is the first funded, bird-collision project managed by trained technicians in New Jersey. With analyses over three years, New Jersey Audubon formed a baseline dataset of the area and began recognizing established patterns of where and when the birds are the most vulnerable. They found that about 50% to 60% of the birds that hit the buildings were killed, while the other half were relocated to Raptor Trust, a bird rehabilitation center in Millington, to recover. With the assistance of the center, about 70% to 80% of the birds brought in for rehabilitation were released.   

“Since it is a new topic for many government officials, we’ve been talking with the Newark Environmental Commission and planning board and officials in Montclair,” Tsipoura said. We have been going out, using that data to put together a presentation to bring awareness beyond just the public — but, to the people who are in positions, that can make a difference.”  

Additionally, New Jersey Audubon is reaching out to the private sector. The organization works with a Corporate Stewardship Council comprising companies throughout the state that want to manage their properties in an environmentally friendly way. Tsipoura said she also has educated the council on bird-building collisions so they, too, can incorporate bird-friendly designs.  

Now, New Jersey Audubon and PSEG are in discussions to manage the building with bird-safe designs. New Jersey Audubon will be able to appropriately assess the efficacy of its bird-collision treatment by comparing it against the established dataset.  

Stockton University installed a mural of bird silhouettes on its double-sided glass, K-wing breezeway, using vinyl sheets. Photo courtesy of Susan Allen

When it comes to what types of coverings to put over reflective windows, or even new bird-friendly glass inventions, the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is the “go-to” resource for rating and recommending bird-friendly designs. A close partner with New Jersey Audubon, the ABC conducts glass collision research and testing on a variety of bird-friendly glass to evaluate how birds respond to the distinctive patterns on the glass and to see how well each design deters birds.   

“Everyone always focuses on urban sites, but collisions are everywhere,” Tsipoura said, “So, when you’re looking at these huge numbers, it’s not how many birds are dying in the top 20 cities of the world or in the top 100 cities of the world, it’s how many birds are dying across the entire state.”  

In 2014, Atlantic Cape Community College’s Cape May County campus installed a bird-friendly film over the highly reflective glass of its three-story, 68,000-square-foot building. The school consulted with ABC’s Dr. Christine Sheppard, who conducts bird collision research. Atlantic Cape decided to apply a film over the reflective windows called CollidEscape, which is opaque to the birds on the outside, but transparent for people on the inside.   

Similarly, Stockton University followed suit in 2020 when a mural of bird silhouettes printed on vinyl sheets was placed on the school’s double-sided glass, K-wing breezeway. School alum and faculty member John Rokita logged bird strikes on campus for decades, and the breezeway was the most common culprit, with increases in fatalities during fall and spring migrations. Created by Stockton graphic designers, the mural has already made a difference.  

Katrina Rossos is a writer and editor with a passion for the environment, ecology and wildlife conservation. Her freelance work has been published in Backpacker Magazine and Backpacker.com, U.S. News & World Report, Nature World News and The Dodo, among others.

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of Jersey’s Best. Subscribe here for in-depth access to everything that makes the Garden State great.

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