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2010 Bird Window Collision Solutions from the American Bird Conservancy
Bird Friendly Building Guidelines
The Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) aims to inform Canadians on the threats of lights and buildings to migratory birds. These guidelines may also be helpful to KHSCP Applicants when remodeling existing facilities or planning new facilities. An estimated minimum of one million birds die each year in Toronto during the migratory season -largely because they fly into buildling windows that they cannot see, or that confuse their visual navigation (City of Toronto 2007). The Toronto City Council has implemented Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines (link provided above) as part of their Migratory Bird Policies and building managers in Toronto have adopted tenant-awareness programs encouraging selective use of lighting to reduce light pollution and attraction of birds (Evans Ogden 2002). Such strategies are being undertaken in other large cities of the United States and Canada.
Nocturnal seabirds can collide with buildings while circling lights and they can also be directly attracted to bright lights shining out from the interior. Each year many people find shearwaters on their porches and balconies. This is likely due to light attraction, but sometimes birds fly directly into glass and can be injured or killed.
Some bird-friendly building strategies that can decrease collisions with buildings include:
- Architecturally designing and modifying buildings:
- alter glass angle to decrease reflectance;
- increase glass opacity with etchings, decals, or shades to decrease light emitted;
- install overhangs over windows and large glass structures/walls ; and
- install landscape and structural screens to minimize effects of large windows and the glow emitted from within buildings;
- Maximizing the number of offices that turn off all lights after sunset;
- Requiring the closing of window blinds, louvers, or shades after daylight hours;
- Staggering the timing of light use;
- Managing lights via training of security personnel- i.e. staff are provided with bird identification books and how to deal with dead and injured birds; and
- Providing outreach to guests and tenants about collision and attraction minimization strategies.
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