To celebrate Earth Day, a conference organized at Stony Brook University discussed the phenomenon of birds…flying into windows.
New York bird experts, architects and university representatives debated ways to make Long Island more bird-friendly.
John Turner, with the Four Harbors Audubon Society on Long Island, says bird populations are already threatened by feral cats, climate change and habitat loss. And yet, crashing into windows kills more than a million birds each day in the United States.
“It’s not a problem that is not restricted by any means to Stony Brook University, to Long Island, to New York, to the United States, to North America. It is a worldwide problem," Turner said.
Some solutions include putting stickers on windows and installing fritted glass or glass with UV coating that only birds can see.
State Assemblyman Steve Englebright said he introduced a bill that would promote bird-friendly buildings.
“This is important. We're not just going to say 'oh well.' We're going to try to do something.”
The bill would form a council that would identify more technologies to help birds avoid buildings – and educate the public.