Reducing the Number of Bird Strikes
Members of the Penn student body, faculty, and staff are working together to make Penn’s campus more environmentally conscious by reducing the number of bird strikes as part of Bird-Friendly Penn.
Reducing the Number of Bird Strikes
Members of the Penn student body, faculty, and staff are working together to make Penn’s campus more environmentally conscious by reducing the number of bird strikes as part of Bird-Friendly Penn.
Bird-Friendly Penn
Since 1970, North American bird populations have plummeted by nearly 30% - a particularly alarming figure given that birds are essential for human and environmental health and wellness, providing pest control, pollination, seed propagation, and adding cultural and economic value. In the Fall of 2020 alone, over 1,000 birds were found dead after they flew into buildings and skyscrapers across Philadelphia, in part due to Philadelphia’s central location along the “Atlantic Flyway,” a common migration route for over 500 different species of birds. When these migratory birds encounter the unfamiliar urban landscape, they’re often unable to recognize the see-through and sky-reflecting glass of urban buildings, crashing into them at fatal speeds.
Today, members of the Penn student body, faculty, and staff are working together to make Penn’s campus more environmentally conscious by reducing the number of bird strikes as part of Bird-Friendly Penn. This initiative is spearheaded by the FRES Landscape Architecture Group in partnership with Audubon Mid-Atlantic, Bird-Safe Philly, and Penn Sustainability. Ongoing research is being conducted to document the frequency and location of campus bird strikes, and novel solutions to integrate bird-friendly technology into building architecture, such as UV reflective coatings, are being tested. Outreach materials such as a logo, lawn signs, and brochures were created through a partnership between Colleagues in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
Programs

Bird Awareness
Discover the many ways in which the Penn community comes together to learn about birds, observe them on campus and in our surrounding neighborhoods, and report finding and sightings, all with an eye to the larger function of our ecosystem.

Bird Strikes
Personal actions and design strategies can work together to reduce the number of bird collisions with buildings.

Bird-Friendly Buildings at Penn
As Penn buildings are renovated and new ones are constructed, a variety of bird-friendly architectural features are incorporated into the design to reduce bird collisions.

Partners
The following organizations and Penn partners collaborate on bird-friendly initiatives and information: