ENDING BIRD-WINDOW COLLISIONS IN ROCHESTER
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Do you want to help us end bird-window collisions in Rochester? Below are five easy steps that you can take to contribute at home, at work, and throughout the city, from citizen science to political advocacy.
1
REPORT
COLLISIONS
If you have either witnessed a collision or found an injured / dead bird that you suspect to be the victim of a collision, please submit a report here. Your reports will help us map where collision deterrents are most needed and push for bird-safe legislation to Rochester City Council.
2
MONITOR
BUILDINGS
We are currently recruiting volunteers for our three building monitoring studies at RIT, the University of Rochester, and the downtown area. Get in touch if you want to sign up to routinely check one or more of the buildings along our routes for any evidence of bird-window collisions.
3
INSTALL
DETERRENTS
When installed correctly, approved collision deterrents can prevent up to 95% of fatal window strikes. If you have a known issue at home or at your workplace, or simply wish to take preventative measures, there are a range of treatments you or a professional team can apply to your building to make it bird-safe. Click below to learn more about pricing, styles, installation, and maintenance.
RESOURCES FOR TREATING WINDOWS
American Bird Conservancy’s Guide to “Preventing Bird Collisions at Home”
This page offers a basic overview of how to prevent bird-window collisions at home or at work, including common solutions and rules of thumb for the most effective applications.
American Bird Conservancy’s “Products & Solutions Database”
This page offers an expanded selection of collision deterrents, including numerical scores of their efficacy.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Bird Collision Reduction Toolkits”
This page offers a variety of “toolkits” for reducing bird-window collisions at home, at other buildings, and on college campuses.
National Audubon Society’s “Reducing Collisions with Glass” Primer
This page offers various resources for preventing collisions, including brochures, how-to guides, and comparisons of the most common solutions.
Bird Collision Prevention Alliance’s “Learn about Solutions” Guide
This page offers concise suggestions for making your buildings bird-safe, including DIY, glass treatment, and façade treatment solutions, as well as implementing “lights out” protocols.
BirdSafe’s “Homes Safe for Birds” Program
This page offers guides and guidelines for preventing bird-window collisions at home.
4
EDUCATE
YOURSELF
One of the best things you can do to prevent bird-window collisions is to learn more about why they occur and what can stop them. The resources below discuss the biology of collisions, emerging standards for bird-safe design, and the state of bird-friendly legislation around the country, including which states, counties, and cities have successfully fought to protect birds. These will be especially helpful for architects, planners, developers, and government officials.
RESOURCES FOR BIRD-SAFE DESIGN AND POLICY
Yale Bird-Friendly Initiative’s “Database of U.S. Bird-Friendly Building Policies”
This page offers a database of every jurisdiction in the United States that has enacted bird-friendly policy.
This page offers an example of one such bird-friendly policy from New York City. Also known as Local Law 15, this policy is widely considered to be a gold standard.
American Bird Conservancy’s Database of “Existing Bird-Friendly Legislation and Ordinances”
This page offers an evaluation of bird-friendly legislation in the United States, including recommendations. It also offers model ordinances
American Bird Conservancy’s “Bird-Friendly Building Design” Guide
This page offers a definitive guide to bird-friendly design standards in architecture and construction.
Swiss Ornithological Institute’s “Bird-Friendly Building with Glass and Light” Booklet
This page offers another guide to bird-friendly design standards in architecture and construction.
Ecological Design Lab’s “Bird-Safe Design: Planner’s Toolkit”
This page offers a definitive guide to bird-friendly design standards in urban planning.
University of British Columbia’s “Bird-Friendly Design Guidelines for Buildings”
This page offers an example of bird-friendly design standards at the university level.
University of Washington’s “Bird-Friendly Campus Design Standards”
This page offers another example of bird-friendly design standards at the university level.
5
SPREAD
KNOWLEDGE
Promote greater public awareness of bird-window collisions by talking to friends, family, colleagues, and officials. Post about the need to install deterrents on social media and write to your elected officials about the importance of bird-friendly legislation. Here are resources we have found useful for educating others.
RESOURCES FOR PROMOTING AWARENESS
Preventing Bird-Window Collisions
Here is a one-page infographic from Dr. Brendon Samuels (FLAP Canada) that shows how to make windows bird-safe.
Here is a two-page guide from Dr. Brendon Samuels (FLAP Canada) that describes what to do when see a collision and how to prevent more from happening at home.
This video from Wonder Media and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology teaches kids about bird-window collisions.
Save Birds from Window Collisions
This video from Birds Connect Seattle informs viewers about bird-window collisions.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Collision Reduction Toolkits”
This page offers various letter templates for contacting building owners, university administrators, and government officials.