It’s For the Birds: What it Takes to Develop a Bird-Safe City
By Lev Levy, public affairs officer, Pacific Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) sits on the east side of the Willamette River in Portland, OR, and less than a mile away from the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. OMSI is one of the nation’s leading science museums, with hands-on, experiential learning opportunities, including a motion simulator and planetarium. But there’s something that most visitors don’t notice: On the west side of the museum one bank of the museum’s tall glass windows are glazed with barely visible dots.
What are the dots for? They’re for the birds. This demonstration window at OMSI displays three types of window glazing that are meant to help reduce bird collisions.
A window glaze is an effective tool in saving birds’ lives. There are hundreds of different kinds of birds that use the Willamette River as a permanent home, migratory corridor, and temporary refuge. Everywhere there is a window there is the risk of a bird colliding with it, but this risk increases when the building reflects vegetation like street trees or sits in close proximity to good habitat. With the Willamette River out its back doors, and with Oaks Bottom nearby, OMSI’s large windows posed a hazard to hawks, ducks, woodpeckers, songbirds, hummingbirds — any bird that spends time in Portland. The new protective film will be even more important as OMSI’s habitat enhancement along the river proceeds.
Humans have the ability to see windows by our ability to interpret a reflection. Birds are generally unable to make that logical leap and often collide with the window reflecting an image of a tree, bush, or sky. Studies suggest that between up to a billion birds die every year from collisions with glass in the U.S. alone, one of the biggest killers of migratory birds annually.
“Bird collisions with glass is one of the largest sources of mortality to birds, and one that we can do something about. As bird populations decline worldwide from multiple threats, it’s important to take action at home, in our cities, and at our businesses, to reduce those threats. Adding bird-visible films to windows is one of those things,” said Michael Green with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In response, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Audubon Society, American Bird Conservancy, and other partners have teamed up to help cities become more “bird-safe.”
“Research tells us that almost half of all window strikes happen at residential homes and over half happen at low rise commercial buildings,” said Mary Coolidge with Audubon. “That’s because there are so many of them across the landscape. High rises don’t get a pass on this, but we need to be addressing this hazard at all scales of development, not just at high rises.”
In 2003, Portland was designated an Urban Bird Treaty City as part of the Service’s Urban Bird Treaty Program. The program is a collaborative effort between the Service and participating U.S. cities and partners to create bird-friendly environments and help people connect with nature through birding and conservation. Coolidge and Portland Audubon, with support from the Service and other partners, work tirelessly to help Portland become a more bird-friendly city. In 2012, the City of Portland, working collaboratively with Portland Audubon and the Service developed a Resource Guide for Bird-Friendly Building Design for the City.
In 2018, Portland adopted a Central City Plan that includes a regulations requiring builders in Portland’s downtown core to follow procedures to glaze windows in such a way that will help birds see them if their building design includes more than 30% glass. According to Portland Audubon, a good bird-safe glaze on a window creates a pattern that interrupts reflectivity and alerts the bird to its presence. There are also special types of glass that builders can use that include built in patterns to alert birds. Spacing is also important: research has shown that patterns spaced two inches apart or less horizontally and four inches apart or less vertically have a higher chance of reducing collisions. Even more eye-catching to businesses? Because bird-safe windows often cost only five percent more than a standard window, installing them during building construction is a reasonable option. Check out this toolkit for more information on how to incorporate bird-safe building design into your home or business.
The Service and other partners contributed to bird-safe glass at OMSI, as well as a sign that explains the importance of the glass for reducing bird mortality. Other buildings in the Portland area with bird-safe features include:
● The courtyard at the BPA Government building at 905–911 11th Ave NE has a patterned film applied to the outside lower story windows.
● The Edith Green-Wendall Wyatt building, a federal building that houses government agencies, has a steel framework on the outside to reduce the impact of solar heat, as well as prevent bird mortality.
● The Oregon Zoo has three bird safe buildings: Forest Hall (with UV-patterned glass), the Zoo Education Center (with etched lines from top to bottom with variant spacing), and the Vet Medical Center (window film retrofit)
● The Lewis & Clark Law School installed window screens to reduce reflection and bird mortality.
● Providence Park Sports Center Entrance features Vertical Solyx window film.
● East Portland Community Center, CollidEscape Dot pattern retrofit
If you want to make your windows at home more bird-safe, there are a few inexpensive things you can do. One is to place a thin film or decals, following the 2x4 rule, on the outside surface of your windows so that birds can see the barrier. Another is to put a screen or net outside of your window. You can keep your shades drawn during the day, and move plants back from windows. For more tips on what you can do, check out this article from Audubon about how you can make your house and yard safe for birds.
Little steps can add up to big changes, and help save the lives of birds in an urban environment.
