Join BirdNote tomorrow, November 30th!
Illustrator David Sibley and actor H. Jon Benjamin will face off in the bird illustration battle of the century during BirdNote's Year-end Celebration and Auction!
Preventing Birds from Striking Windows
Learn how to make neighborhoods safer for migratory birds
© Kelly Colgan Azar
When migratory birds fly through populated areas at night, buildings with lights on can cause them to become disoriented. And birds don’t see clear glass windows as an obstacle. Instead, they often see the reflection of trees and shrubs and think they’re flying to safety. Every year, up to a billion birds die when they collide with buildings, including many low-rise buildings and houses. Fortunately, there’s a lot that can be done to prevent birds from striking windows.
As part of BirdNote's "From Love to Action" campaign, we want to know how our stories are inspiring you to act for birds. Share how you are taking action with us here.
BirdNote®
Preventing Birds from Striking Windows
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
[City soundscape]
Occasionally when birds are migrating, grim headlines announce that hundreds of birds have crashed into the same glassy building all in one night. While devastating, these events highlight a problem that’s much bigger than any one skyscraper.
[Veery flight call]
When birds like this Veery fly through populated areas at night, buildings with lights on can cause them to become disoriented. And birds don’t see clear glass windows as an obstacle. Instead, they often see the reflection of trees and shrubs and think they’re flying to safety. Every year, up to a billion birds die when they collide with buildings, including many low-rise buildings and houses.
Fortunately, there’s a lot that can be done to prevent birds from striking windows. Turning off lights at night and applying special stickers to windows helps birds see them as an obstacle. Designing new buildings with bird safety in mind and making improvements to existing buildings also makes a difference. Every step taken towards addressing this problem can save birds’ lives.
[Birdsong]
BirdNote is on a mission to inspire a million people to take action to help birds over the next three years. To learn what you can do, visit BirdNote.org. I’m Michael Stein.
###
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Veery ML57507221 recorded by Brad Walker, and Environmental ML163339 recorded by Matthew D. Medler.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2024 BirdNote May 2024
Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# actions-07-2024-05-15 actions-07
Michael Stein
Narrator
Conor Gearin
WriterSights & Sounds
