window protection for bird strikes

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James Wilson

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Feb 2, 2021, 4:43:08 PM2/2/21
to Maryland & DC Birding
Adkins Arboretum wants to put up window protection to stop bird strikes at their Visitor Center.  Some of the windows are large and others are regular windows.  This is a bigger area to cover than a regular house.
I was asked about these 2 applications:  



 I have no expertise in this area and volunteered to post to this group.  I am sure there are other options out there.
Comments?  Other ideas?
Any responses can be sent directly to me or to this group.  That is up to any responder.

Jim Wilson
Queenstown

Tom Strikwerda

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Feb 2, 2021, 5:03:49 PM2/2/21
to James Wilson, Maryland & DC Birding
Check out Safe Skies Maryland site for additional ideas. They’ve done some large projects.

-----------------------
Tom Strikwerda
tst...@verizon.net




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Jack Saba

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Feb 2, 2021, 5:29:12 PM2/2/21
to James Wilson, Maryland & DC Birding
A few years ago I put vertical strips of parachute cord spaced about 4"
apart on the outside of my windows. Very few window strikes since. See
https://www.birdsavers.com/

I believe Blackwater NWR did this at the visitor's center. Not sure how
well it has worked.

Jack Saba
Berwyn Heights
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ljeanne...@aol.com

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Feb 2, 2021, 9:55:01 PM2/2/21
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At Johns Hopkins Hosp, where there is a overhead Glass-sided enclosed Walk from parking lot to Hospital, they used a dabber/dobber, maybe white shoe polish and dabbed spots in a nice pattern all over the windows.  Been like that for at least four years.   Jeanne Bowman  BBC
 
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Paul Pisano

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Feb 3, 2021, 6:18:32 AM2/3/21
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The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has an excellent website about this subject, including information on effective solutions: https://abcbirds.org/glass-collisions/homes-existing-buildings/

Paul Pisano 
Arlington, VA

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Gail Mackiernan

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Feb 3, 2021, 7:21:48 AM2/3/21
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JHH has also used bird-safe glass - appears to be an etched pattern - on the large glass windows in several new buildings. We noticed that at JHH Bayview Kimmel Center when we went there last month for Covid vaccinations. 

Gail Mackiernan
Colesville

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Lynne Parks

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Feb 3, 2021, 8:37:48 AM2/3/21
to James Wilson, Maryland & DC Birding
Hi Everyone,

We're so happy to hear about the plans for window treatments at the Adkins Arboretum!

The one pedestrian walk at Hopkins does have a frit pattern, but it was intended as an art installation to create a soothing, mesmerizing feeling for patients. Since it leads to the Zayed Tower, the mark is modeled on an Arabic calligraphy brush stroke. The design isn't perfectly bird-safe because some of the etching is on the interior of the glass. Bird-safe patterning needs to be on the exterior of the glass to break up reflections, or to keep the bridge from seeming a clear pathway to a bird--glass is invisible. That said, it helps some.
"Testing has shown that most birds will not attempt to fly through horizontal spaces less than 2” high nor through vertical spaces 4” wide or less. This is widely referred to as the 2x4 rule."

The American Bird Conservancy is a great resource for glass solutions. The noted solutions so far are good ones--CollidEscape, Feather Friendly, BirdSavers.

An Adkins representative just reached out to us, Lights Out Baltimore, last night. We'll be happy to help. You might be aware of a number of our bird-safe installations that we've advised on or created. Feather Friendly dots/window film at the National Aquarium and Irvine Nature Center, Acopian BirdSavers at CCBC Dundalk, CollidEscape at the National Wildlife Visitor Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge, Feather Friendly tape at Lake Roland Nature Center, a variety of products to show options at the new Phoenix Wildlife Center, home-made decals at Creative Alliance, and more. We're always happy to give advice to both homeowners and organizational buildings. You can always contact our director, Lindsay Jacks, or me. There is a contact form on our website http://www.lightsoutbaltimore.org/contact.html

Lynne Parks
Outreach Coordinator, Lights Out Baltimore
Baltimore, MD

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Lynne Parks

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Feb 3, 2021, 8:57:10 AM2/3/21
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Hi Everyone,

We're so happy to hear about the plans for window treatments at the Adkins Arboretum!

The one pedestrian walk at Hopkins does have a frit pattern, but it was intended as an art installation to create a soothing, mesmerizing feeling for patients. Since it leads to the Zayed Tower, the mark is modeled on an Arabic calligraphy brushstroke. The design isn't perfectly bird-safe because some of the etching is on the interior of the glass. Bird-safe patterning needs to be on the exterior of the glass to break up reflections, or to keep the bridge from seeming a clear pathway to a bird--glass is invisible. That said, it helps some.

Jo & Bob Solem

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Feb 3, 2021, 10:05:52 AM2/3/21
to Lynne Parks, MDbirding Birding
Howard County Bird Club partnered with the Howard County Conservancy to provide window treatments at the Gudelsky Environmental Center: https://howardbirds.website/birding/birding-howard-county-md/site-guides/mount-pleasant/bird-strike-remediation-project/

The Conservancy has also used Acopian Bird Savers on other windows at the Center. They are committed to make the Center an example and demonstration project.

Bob Solem
From: mdbi...@googlegroups.com <mdbi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Lynne Parks <v.lynn...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 8:56 AM
To: MDbirding Birding <mdbi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [MDBirding] window protection for bird strikes
 
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Lynne Parks

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Feb 3, 2021, 10:53:12 AM2/3/21
to Gail B. Mackiernan, MDbirding Birding
The Amazon building looks disastrous for birds. Unless the glass is bird-safe, the greenery will be attractive to birds and so will the reflections. After conferring with ABC, I'm told that Amazon has not been responsive to well founded concerns about bird strikes. They're writing a Letter to the Editor of the Post. Public pressure is the way to go. Amazon can afford to build with bird-friendly glass and it's cheaper to build bird-safe than retrofit later. And you're right, being on the water which is a pathway makes it more dangerous. Let's write letters to the Arlington County Board, Amazon, and NBBJ--if they want to be fond of nature and not just mimic it. 
Lynne

On Wed, Feb 3, 2021 at 8:47 AM Gail B. Mackiernan <katah...@comcast.net> wrote:
Hi Lynne,
 
I am very concerned about this proposed building right along the Potomac. If they do not use bird-safe glass, it will be a killer. Hope ABC gets on it asap.
 
Gail Mackiernan,
Montgomery Bird Club Conservation Chair
 
Amazon unveils Helix building as heart of campus in Arlington, Va.
 
Amazon plans to build a 22-story building in the shape of a double helix as the centerpiece of its second headquarters in Virginia. Architects for the Seattle-based tech giant said the design, drawing on nature's fondness for the helical form in areas from DNA to the Milky Way galaxy, is part of an aesthetic that weaves nature into an urban setting and integrates itself into the surrounding neighborhood.
 
By Fredrick Kunkle
 
 
 

Lynne Parks

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Feb 4, 2021, 2:49:12 AM2/4/21
to Gail B. Mackiernan, MDbirding Birding
After many concerns were voiced, the ABC was able to speak with the head architect yesterday. Good news, "...he said that the intention was to use bird-friendly glass for Helix and for the other buildings that will be part of the Amazon complex." Encouragement would still be helpful. We want intention to become reality.

Thanks,
Lynne
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