Course Description: Birds are potent cultural symbols. They play fundamental roles in ecosystems and habitat regeneration and are important natural controls for insects. Hundreds of millions are killed yearly by colliding with glass in the US alone. Birds cannot see glass, striking it as they fly towards reflections of clouds, sky and vegetation or as they approach real habitat seen through glass. Birds collide with glass on structures of every size, from shacks to skyscrapers, in urban, suburban and rural area. Advances in technology are increasing use of glass curtain walls and other large glass features, increasing the rate of mortality.  Click here to read more. 

Goals: Participants will learn to:

• Recognize hazards to birds in the built environment
• Identify and apply current best practices in reducing bird collisions for new design
• Integrate bird-friendly architecture with other aspects of green design
• Understand existing and potential legislation mandating bird-friendly design
• Use LEED Pilot Credit #55: Reducing Bird Collisions
• Find and utilize resources on bird-friendly construction, including research reports, case studies, materials and guidelines.