Too many birds have lost their lives over new inventions and building infrastructure. New types of glass, new types of lights, and the height of buildings etc. have all played parts into bird deaths over the many years. Changes are needed to protect and preserve the life of birds. Birds and humans should be able to coexist together and producing buildings of the sort doesn’t help this matter at all.
Firstly, different tech and Innovation Bird Collision Detecting Tech Invest in tech that can pick up on bird movement and alert building operators to potential collisions, allowing for timely interventions. While also introducing bird-visible smart glass, advancements in smart glass technology that can change in opacity or color based on environmental conditions. โUse of visual markers like wind socks, blinds, decals, banners, and hanging decorations on or near windows (ideally outside) to break up the reflective surface of the glass and make it more visible to birds reduces the risk of birds striking and helps to prevent birds from accidentally flying into windows, which can cause injury or death.โ Motwani, Dr. K. T. (2023)
This shows using forms of glass that are not so reflective, or using patterns that make the glass itself, in the form of a window, more discernible to birds. This would, of course, add a whole new level of “smartness” to the not-inexpensive faรงades of our many tall, shiny, and very much in-the-way buildings
Another way to help solve this tragedy of bird death is inventing new laws and policies, building codes that can be safer for birds such as safety nets, urging the passage of local laws that require new construction and major remodeling to be safe for birds. โInstalling nets or screens is also an effective way to create a barrier between birds and a risky transparent surface. Netting is relatively easy to fix, requiring no major modifications to the structure and with minimal impact on the vision from the inside or the aesthetic value of the structure can be used โ. Motwani, Dr. K. T. (2023)
Lastly, another convincing way to help improve life for these birds are public awareness and education, community engagement campaigns which can help carry out the educational campaigns necessary to make the public aware of the significance of conserving and preserving their population, which is rapidly declining because of human actions.
VerCauteren, T. (2024) Collaboratives Behind the Scenes: Bird Conservancy of the Rockies [Photograph]. Center For Collaborative Conservation
Enthusiastic attempts to conserve birds within communities are likely to be undermined by the continued loss of their habitats because of unaware public understanding of the issues involved. Citizen science programs enlist community members, youth population especially, in the monitoring of local bird populations and habitats.
In summary, bird life preservation isnโt a corner that should go unturned. Taking care of the problem of avian mortality in New York City takes a combination of unique, innovative designs, congressional action, and most importantly public education. Just as New York City life can be a dream, so too can it be a bird conservationist’s. Because any building can be a potential death trap, the crucial next steps are to find a way to educate builders and tenants about the problems their structures might pose and the kinds of solutions that might alleviate them. The burden can’t be on the birds.
References
Motwani, Dr. K. T. (2023). Preventing bird deaths due to collisions into tall structures. Retrieved from
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4495694
This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
