Flaco’s death draws attention to bird strikes and how to prevent them

Memorials were erected in New York City this weekend in honor of Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl who died Friday after apparently hitting a building on the Upper West Side.

His ability to thrive in Manhattan for a year after escaping from the Central Park Zoo last February captivated much of the city and offered an enchanting lesson in the power of instinct and the beauty of city life.

His death may prove just as instructive.

Flaco is among the estimated a billion birds who will die in the United States this year after attacking buildings.

Construction strikes are one of the leading causes of bird deaths — and one of the easiest threats to solve, according to Christine Sheppard, director of the glass collision program at the American Bird Conservancy.

“This is a conservation problem that we know exactly how to solve,” Ms Sheppard said. “We just have to get people to do it.”

Here’s what you need to know about why birds hit glass windows and some ways people can help:

Why do birds collide with windows?

Most species of migratory birds travel at night. The artificial light of cities draws them in, disorienting the birds and making them more sensitive to collisions with windows that reflect vegetation and open air during the day.

A study published in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology concluded that between 621 million and 1.7 billion birds die annually in the United States due to construction strikes. Audubon scientists in New York estimate that about 250,000 birds in the city die each year after such collisions.

The problem is most acute during spring and autumn migrations and mainly affects small migratory birds.

What types of buildings are the most dangerous?

Buildings with many windows are the most problematic.

And shorter buildings – not skyscrapers – are responsible for most bird deaths. About 56 percent of deaths from building collisions were related to low-rise buildings, and 44 percent occurred in private homes, according to a study evaluation of 23 studies.

Windows that are less than 100 feet from the ground are most likely to reflect vegetation and give birds the impression that they are flying toward a tree or the open sky.

“Birds don’t see glass,” says Jessica Wilson, executive director of NYC Audubon. “What they see is what is on the other side or what is reflected.”

In this respect, Flaco’s death may be atypical. He was found in the back courtyard of an eight-story building on West 89th Street, surrounded by buildings. Neighbors had recently noticed Flaco sleeping on fire escapes during the day and honking his horn at night.

Flaco was almost 14 years old and had lived most of his life at the Central Park Zoo. He has been at large since February last year after someone cut open the mesh of his enclosure, an act of vandalism that remains unsolved.

The Central Park Zoo said in its initial report that Flaco had died of acute traumatic injuries, but further testing would determine whether he had been exposed to toxins or infectious diseases. “Flaco’s tragic and untimely death highlights the problem of bird strikes and their devastating impact on wild bird populations,” the zoo said in a statement.

Alan Drogin, a veteran birdwatcher who sits on the board of the Linnaean Society of New York and lives in the building near where Flaco was found, was one of the first people to care for the owl after it was discovered near a cellar door Friday evening . .

Mr Drogin said poor health or poisoning from rodenticides may have contributed to Flaco’s death, and he cautioned against concluding that the owl’s death was typical of bird deaths resulting from building collisions. “We have to wait until the full autopsy is completed,” he said.

What have cities done to make buildings safer?

San Francisco in 2011 became the first U.S. city to use legislation to curb collisions between buildings, and many other cities, including Chicago and Philadelphia, have since passed laws to address the problem.

In 2019, New York City passed the highest mark in the country comprehensive crashworthiness legislationwhich means that builders must use bird-friendly materials in all new construction and major renovations.

New York City also requires non-essential outdoor lighting City-owned and operated buildings closed at night during peak migration months.

Even before the 2019 legislation passed in New York City, the Javits Center, once considered one of the deadliest buildings for birds in New York, took steps that are now considered a national model. New glass panels with patterns visible to birds have reduced deaths there by 90 percent.

What else do experts recommend?

People who find dead birds are encouraged to report it dbird.org. The crowdsourced data is used to identify problematic buildings across the country – and provide solutions.

In New York, Circa Central Park, a residential building with dazzling views, was one of the three deadliest structures among buildings audited by NYC Audubon in 2022.

Last year the condo board decided to spend $60,000 to add translucent dots on windows to make them more visible to birds.

How can New Yorkers make their homes more bird-friendly?

There are many cheap ways to make houses less dangerous for flying birds.

Large windows and glass doors near bird feeders and fruit plants are often the deadliest. Stickers or tape visible from at least 10 feet away can be placed on the outside of the glass to provide visual cues to low-flying birds. (A study published last year found that stickers placed on the inside of windows were ineffective.)

“If you love birds so much that you want to put food out for them,” Ms. Sheppard said, “you need to make the glass you look through safe for them.”