Over the past decade there has been a groundswell of interest by government, industry and citizens in environmental issues. As a society, a serious issue that we have not addressed is bird deaths as a result of collisions with manmade structures. These collisions account for an estimated 1 billion deaths annually or 10% of the total bird population in North America. Of these, buildings pose the biggest threat. Exterior glass, whether it be clear, tinted or reflective is not a recognizable part of the natural world for birds and therefore they simply do not ‘see’ it. Daytime collisions are generally associated with the reflection on the glass of vegetation or the sky on the lower 3-5 floors. The primary collisions associated with migrating birds occur in the spring and even more in the fall due to immature birds being unfamiliar with their surroundings. Migrating birds are aggressively seeking food in the form of insects and the reflected image of trees in the glass represents an attractive food source. Birds that reside in urban areas for the summer are also prone to collisions.
