A developer in California constructed a mile long glass fence and “conservationists say at least a dozen birds have died in the past few weeks after colliding with the glass wall around the development.” From the thedailygreen.com:

Experts say it is not so much the wall’s transparency that confuses birds, but its reflective properties. In this case, it is also placement, and proximity to popular roosting trees.

Each year, between 100 million and 1 billion birds die from hitting glass, according to Daniel Klem Jr., an ornithologist at Pennsylvania’s Muhlenberg College. “Short of habitat destruction, this is the most significant source of bird fatalities in the country,” Klem told the Times.

After discovering that their buildings can interact negatively with wildlife, some institutions try to implement subsequent measures to protect wildlife. A green building at Emory University, which was discovered to act as an avian “slaughterhouse,” was later retrofitted to mitigate bird deaths. From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Now Emory drapes parts of the $40 million building with black mesh netting for about three months each fall, and migrating birds bounce off safely….Turns out, environmentally friendly buildings are often bird killers….Buildings that earn LEED certifications, the brass ring of environmentally sustainable construction, are often largely glass. Klem said few architects take their feathered friends into account. They are an unintended consequence of light-filled structures.

By dimming or turning off lights, buildings in cities can reduce bird fatalities. From the New York Times:

Thus the city’s skyscrapers will defer to nature at least twice a year: by dimming their lights in September and October, during the peak of the fall migratory season, and again in April and May, during the peak of the spring migratory season.

While the Empire State Building’s lighting policy to protect migratory birds is decades old, and other buildings have used netting on glass windows so birds do not mistake reflections for sky, this policy will be the first citywide effort to protect migratory birds from crashing into buildings. The voluntary policy is aimed at buildings taller than 40 stories, as well as lower glass buildings that hug the Hudson and East Rivers, which birds use as navigational aides. About five million birds pass through New York City during migration season, according to E. J. McAdams, the executive director of the New York City Audubon Society.

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