Bird Safe Hampton Roads

It has been a busy year!

In 2024 the Bird Safe / Lights Out team gathered a tremendous amount of information by monitoring the streets in downtown Norfolk. We began our efforts with the aid of an already existing INaturalist project named “Dead birds in Norfolk” . The associated map gave us a good idea of what streets to monitor. However, as we walked beyond the original search area we found many more carcasses and identified high strike buildings that we otherwise would have missed. It is worth noting that as our volunteer pool grew we found proportionately more birds.

Observations:

A total of 320 birds were found. 55 from last spring before we were monitoring regularly and 265 during fall migration. There were a handful that we reported as predator hits, but overwhelmingly glass strikes were the cause of death or injury. Almost all were dead. The injured were taken to rehabilitation and of those more half were released.

Our species list is virtually identical to what other cities that have a Lights Out program find. Warblers make up the greatest percentage. Found were:

24 Northern Parula
23 Black-and-White Warbler
19 Ovenbird
16 Common Yellowthroat
15 Northern Flicker
14 White-throated Sparrow
13 American Woodcock
13 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
9 Hermit Thrush
8 American Robin
8 Blackpoll
5 Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Additional casualties worth mentioning were the Wrens, Winter, Sedge and Marsh, Eastern Meadowlark, Sora, Clapper Rails, Least and American Bittern, Cooper’s Hawk, Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, Swainson’s and Wood Thrush, an either Grey-cheeked or Bicknell’s Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Grosbeaks, Vireos, Sparrows, Kinglets and Creepers. Wood-Warblers also included Magnolia, Blackburnian, Nashville, Yellow, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided, Golden-winged, Bay-breasted, Northern Waterthrush, Worm-eating, American Redstart, Palm and Pine Warbler.

Although the official end date for fall migration is November 15, we found a significant number of carcasses through mid-December as our resident winter birds migrated through.

Looking at the list it is clear that birds that occupy/forage in the lower canopy and those that forage on the ground have the highest mortality rate in the spring, fall and early winter. One can also predict when and where strikes will occur. When berries ripen on the magnolia and holly trees there is an uptick in the mortality rate not just near those trees but across the city as those birds are on the move searching for food. Sadly, city parks, fountains, tree lined streets, trees that produce food and trees proximity to buildings with glass create an ultra-hazardous risk to birds in a cityscape. We recommend that landscape designers consider these risks and follow our suggestions to minimize bird strikes. In addition, all the windows in proximity to the trees should be retrofitted with one of the many types of decals or film that virtually eliminate bird strikes.

On another front, we attended the Architectural Review Board (ARB) meetings for the City of Norfolk. There, new building designs and the renovation of old buildings are presented for review. As the public is given the opportunity to comment on the design, we invariably asked that the building be bird safe. This translates into using bird safe architectural glass and taking into consideration the landscape design. The board has been very receptive to our suggestions as they are part of a growing body of architects and landscape designers that have attended seminars on glass and bird mortality.

Having the opportunity to meet the architects is an added bonus. The first question is how many windows need to be bird safe and how many feet high? What side of the buildings poses more risk? Are glass railings dangerous? Is bird safe glass unattractive? Cost is always the biggest concern.

Our answers are supported by our data and observations. We also bring to these meetings samples of architectural glass as well as products used in retrofits. It’s helpful to show pictures, provide the address of local bird safe buildings that they can visit, suggest suppliers, brochures and links to websites. We tell them that birds strikes are more likely to occur on east and south facing windows in spring and north and west facing windows during fall migration. We advocate that all windows be bird safe, especially those that face trees. But there are other circumstances that correlate with a high number of bird strikes, and it can be something as simple as a street corner surrounded by glass atriums in every direction. In those locations typically the lights are left on at night and dead birds are found at sunrise as well as throughout the day. We also recommend that bird safe glass is installed at a minimum in the first 4 stories and on every side of the building. That glass railings in all locations be replaced with traditional iron or wood railings, and that if glass is used it must be covered in a black 2" x 2" decal pattern to avoid collisions. Also, to be mindful of the placement of trees and bushes near windows. To protect birds at night, we recommend the use of exterior shutters, and interior shades to trap light at night.

Additionally, a discussion about the principles of responsible lighting, Dark Sky compliant light fixtures, light pollution gives builders insight into why an estimated one billion birds die every year from our built landscape. We impress on them how their designs have and will continue to have a significant impact on bird mortality unless they take measures to incorporate design strategies that make building safe for our birds.

Progress:

We have fostered relationships with security teams and building managers throughout our downtown. They call to let us know of an injured or dead bird on their premises. Additionally, we continue to work with and rely on the Downtown Norfolk Ambassadors to notify us of injured and dead birds. Their help is invaluable.

Out team has met with the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. When the all-glass Conservatory is finished, they have agreed to monitor the building and with our assistance collect and identify the species. This gives us the opportunity to evaluate the type of architectural bird safe glass that they chose and its effectiveness.

For the new Norfolk Casino, our input regarding the design of the glass portions of the buildings and the proposed landscape design will hopefully result in the use of bird safe glass, as this new build will be located directly next to the wetlands. We don’t yet know how much bird safe glass will be used.

At the new Museum of Contemporary Art, it is unlikely that they will use bird safe glass as it would increase the budget. This meeting serves as an example of how critical it is to communicate with designers at the earliest stage of planning.

For the Norfolk Wellness Center being built by the City of Norfolk, we met with the architects from Clark Nexsen, MEB Construction, and the architect for the City of Norfolk to discuss the use of bird safe glass in the new building. They were very receptive to our ideas and appreciated us giving them a better understanding of bird mortality and its causes.

For the design of the new pool at the Cuffee Center in Chesapeake, the team was given an opportunity to comment on a new indoor pool design. The building will have a glass walls on three sides and a translucent glass roof. We hope our suggestions will be implemented in the final design.

On the horizon is the renovation of Chrysler Hall and Scope in Norfolk. We have identified both of these buildings to be the worst in the city for bird strikes. We spoke at the ARB meeting after the architect presented preliminary details of the renovation and they were shocked at the data we presented. We estimate that in the 55 years these buildings have been on the landscape that at least 150,000 birds have died from glass strikes. Since the high number of bird carcasses found are commonly known among all the employees of the facilities, one would have expected that this information would have been shared with the architects, Via Design. This situation highlights the importance of attending public meetings to enlighten the city and the developers of the devastation that has occurred over the years and their responsibility going forward to ensure that it stops.

The McArthur Memorial and Museum as well as the Slover are making a concerted effort to become bird safe by reducing their lights at night and investigating the cost of retrofitting their windows. They are also monitoring their properties for bird strikes.

The City of Norfolk has put the timers and dimmers on the interior Courthouse lights but they still remain on at night. Their efforts are appreciated. We would like to the city to follow the same protocol that the Federal buildings follow. Lights switched off at the close of business. It saves energy, protects birds from collisions and reduces light pollution.

Publicity:

Virginian-Pilot, the Virginia Society of Ornithology newsletter and the Williamsburg Bird Club newsletter all published stories on our efforts. Additionally, we did interviews with WHRO, Channel 10 NBC, Channel 3 CBS, WTVZ, Channel 33.1 MyTVZ.

Presentations and Meetings: