We all know the sound of the thud on our window. Then the sinking feeling as we rush to see if the bird is down and needs help or is dead. FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Project) has some good advice about what to do to help the bird recover. But for about 600 million birds every year in North America, this is not the outcome. The week of September 24, FLAP is hosting a new citizen science project – Global Bird Rescue’s Collision Count Week – where you can report and see data from bird collisions with buildings around the world.
More birds die from strikes on glass than from oil spills or pesticides and there are solutions which we can implement right now. Architects now have bird-friendly glass available, and will use it if asked. More states are passing laws that make it mandatory that government buildings are bird-friendly. Times are changing and we can now more easily make it a safer place for birds.
This month in The Year of the Bird, making migration and buildings safe is a priority. National Audubon has some suggestions for making your home and building safe. And, for the complete picture of the problems and the solutions for bird-safe glass, check out this comprehensive article from National Geographic.
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