Issue of Bird-Window Collisions

Issue of Bird-Window Collisions

Birds and the Built Environment
Glassy facade of the high-rise development is very common in urban area. Glass is always the favorable materials often used by architects while designing high-rise building. The glazed perimeter of the modern glassy skyscraper have given access to natural light, better visual connectivity, sexier skylines - and lots of dead birds.
Bird flying high, you know how i feel.
Sun in the sky, you know how i feel.
...
But you never know my sadness watching birds died due to accidentally smack into windows. Glazed facade is a significant threat for birds-window collision due to the birds' poor depth perception causing them unable to distinguish the window barrier. 

Properties of Glass
Humans as well, sometimes, hardly see most glasses but we often aware and cued by context such as window frame, door or ceiling. Birds, however, unconscious about architectural signals as indicators of barrier or artificial environment. Building with glass which reflects the vegetation, sky and clouds attractive to birds. When birds attempt to fly through the reflected habitat, they smack into the window. Glare from the windows also interfere them from recognizing the difference between a reflective window and thin air. Besides, the transparent windows also dangerous when birds trying to fly through the window to reach an object behind the window like plants, food or water sources that seen through the window.

My Cats ready to Hunt

Birds Unconscious with Reflective Glass

Design with Visual 'Noise'
As a ethical architect, we should be aware with this environmental issues in order to protect the wildlife. According to 'Bird-Friendly Building Design' by American Bird Conservancy, there's the ways which designers can make to avoid the issue of bird-window collisions:
     - Awning and Overhangs: to block glass from the view of birds flying above
     - UV Pattern Glass: bird can see thru ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of light
     - Angled Glass: 20 to 40 degrees angled glass resulted less mortality according to research
     - Opaque and Translucent Glass: opaque, etched, stained, frosted glass and glass bock
     - Internal Shades, Blinds, and Curtain: to break up reflection
     - Decal: birds recognized decal as obstacles that they may try to fly around
Architect loves glass, and should love the ecosystem as well. Glass, such a aesthetic material should be well complied to bring the best indoor quality for occupants, at the same time care about its surrounding context, to perform its beauty inside out.



reference:
American Bird Conservancy (April, 2019) Bird-Friendly Building Design. Retrieved from: https://www.aianh.org/sites/default/files/Resource_documents/BirdFriendlyBuildingDesign.pdf