After assessing the frequency of bird-glass collisions on its campus, Oklahoma State University has installed window markers at two venues, including Gallagher-Iba Arena, the Cowboys' home for basketball and wrestling in Stillwater.
As reported by Fox 23 in Tulsa, Tim O’Connell, an associate professor in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, said long-term monitoring determined that OSU's Noble Research Center and Gallagher-Iba Arena saw the most bird-window collisions due to the type of reflections they produce.
“It creates sort of a mirror effect, and especially if that reflection is reflecting vegetation like trees that are behind you, then birds will just see that as more habitat, more trees, and they'll fly headlong into it and never realize that it's a barrier,” O’Connell said.
He said also birds will sometimes think they can pass through areas that have glass on both sides.
“So, if there’s glass on one side and glass on the other side, you and I know that you can’t just sort of walk through without opening the door, but birds don’t understand that, they see what’s on the other side on the other pane of glass, and they perceive that as a place where they can pass through,” he said.
The university installed Feather Friendly window markers, a film containing small dots that let birds know that the windows are actual objects. The project cost $118,000, $40,000 of which has been earmarked to study the markers' effectiveness.
OSU said a previous study at OSU bus shelters with the same markers estimated they reduced bird collisions by 64 percent.
O’Connell said it’s estimated that one billion birds a year die from window collision in the United States.
Other sports venues have dealt with this issue in recent years. In 2019, a study by the Minnesota Audubon Society estimated that 111 birds were dying annually after flying into the heavily glazed facades at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Vikings, prompting the stadium to consider frosting the glass.
Related: U.S. Bank Stadium Mulls Frosted Glass Over Bird Deaths
In 2018, Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum opened with specially patterned glass to prevent bird collisions and deaths.
From AB: Fiserv Forum Features Bird-Friendly Facade
