With the support from UGA’s Campus Sustainability Grant, we were able to retrofit 16 windows on the Odum School of Ecology building with films that prevent bird-window collisions. Films with a 2x2” dot pattern were applied to windows bordering the seminar room, and tinted film was applied to a tall computer lab window where bird strikes have been observed in the past. The dot pattern helps birds perceive windows as a barrier to flight, preventing mid-flight collisions. The tinted film reduces reflectivity of the glass, so it prevents both mid-flight and territorial bird strikes.

Check out the windows if you're on campus!
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4329107157141304&set=pcb.1165055424015034

January 2021 - Lilly Branch Audubon Society received funding to retrofit the Ecology building at UGA with bird-friendly window treatments. The transparency and reflectance of windows can prevent birds from perceiving them as barriers, leading many birds to crash into the glass mid-flight. Colliding with windows can stun, injure, or kill birds. Fortunately, window treatments that help birds recognize windows as barriers have proven effective in reducing the number of bird-window collisions.
With this pilot project, we aim to:

1. Educate UGA and Athens community members about the problem of bird-window collisions
2. Develop a procedure for retrofitting existing buildings with bird-friendly film
3. Assess the success of the window treatments (compare spring 2021 bird strikes at the Ecology building to strikes at buildings of similar size and window area)
4. Prioritize other UGA buildings for future window treatments

All observations submitted to this iNaturalist project will help us with aims 3 and 4!

To learn more about bird-friendly window treatments, visit

• https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/project-safe-flight.html
• https://abcbirds.org/glass-collisions/homes-existing-buildings/

Thank you!