Take Action to Prevent Bird Strikes
Join us at an upcoming St Paul City Council public hearing on October 15, Town Hall meeting on River Issues with Mayor Carter. 6:30 pm (check-in at 6:00 pm) Highland Park Community Center, 1978 Ford Parkway, St Paul, MN 55116.
A billion birds die each year in the United States from window strikes. Most all collisions are fatal. Even those birds who are stunned, come to, fly away, and usually die soon after from concussion, brain bleed, and trauma.
Why do birds fly into windows? Birds do not recognize glass windows, or highly glazed building walls, as obstacles. The birds see reflections of the sky or nearby trees and think it is safe to fly ahead. Instead, they hit the window or wall head-on at high speed.
What to do if a bird strikes your window?
Collect them into a paper bag or box and get them off the sidewalk or yard. Keep them away from dogs, cats, children. Do not try to feed or water them. Take them to the nearest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center as soon as possible. In the Twin Cities the WRC is at 2350 N. Dale, Roseville, MN 55113.
What more can be done to prevent bird strikes?
Join with your local neighborhood group, student group on campus, or conservation groups like Saint Paul Bird Alliance, Land of Lakes Bird Alliance, Friends of the Mississippi River. We all need to stand up together for more bird safe measures in our community.
We are blessed to live in the area of the Mississippi River Flyway where over 325 species migrate North in the Spring and South in the Fall. Other flyways in North America are the East Coast Flyway on the Atlantic Ocean, the Central Flyway along the Rocky Mountains, and the West Coast on the Pacific Ocean. It is thought our Mississippi River Flyway hosts 40% of all the migrants.
Hosting these birds on their journey brings responsibilities to all of us. We need to preserve critical habitat up and down the River for migrating and resident birds. Just like people, birds need clean water, clean air, green space, secure resting places, safe transportation routes, and bird-safe buildings.
We are responsible to do what we can to make our buildings safe for birds. Minnesota law now requires bird-safe glass in all new construction using state bonding funds.
We need stronger legislation so that bird-safe glass and bird-safe buildings are required in all new construction in the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area. And we need local and state legislation requiring bird-safe buildings throughout Minnesota whenever and wherever public funds and incentives where government bonds or tax increment financing are being used.
Many cities around North America already have bird-safe building codes. These include New York City, Washington DC, Madison WI, Berkeley CA, Mountain View CA, Portland ME, Portland OR, Middleton WI, San Francisco CA, Austin TX, and Evanston IL. Oakland CA, Chicago and Detroit are studying bird-safe building codes.
Won’t you help in making Minnesota a bird-safe state? Join us at an upcoming St Paul City Council public hearing (date to be determined) and at the October 15 Town Hall meeting on River Issues with Mayor Carter (6 pm Highland Park Community Center, 1978 Ford Pkwy, St Paul, MN 55116).
