ESF Pilot Project Helps Prevent Bird Collisions with Nature-inspired ‘Mitigation Murals’
SYRACUSE, NY — This spring, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) gave its Syracuse campus a bird-friendly makeover right in time for bird migration. With a new pilot project, five all-glass windscreens in front of Baker Hall and the Gateway Center were transformed into decorative “mitigation murals” to protect birds from fatal building collisions. Every year in the United States, nearly 2 billion birds die after colliding with glass windows and walls.
The initiative is a collaboration of the SUNY ESF Office of Sustainability, SUNY ESF Division of Sustainable Facilities & Operations, Guy A. Baldassarre Birding Club, and PhD student Meredith Barges.
The give transparent windscreens were treated with hand-painted, nature-themed designs using water-resistant acyrlic paint and paint pens to create “contrast visual markers.” These markers help birds to recognize the glass as a solid object and avoid flying into it.
ESF has seen its share of bird collisions. Just this spring, two American Woodcocks and an Ovenbird collided with the front of the ESF Gateway Center. These fatalities were added to the dozens of collisions reported at SUNY ESF and collected through the SUNY ESF Community Collision Project on iNaturalist. The new mitigation measures aim to prevent losses in the future.
Environmental illustrator Katie Mulligan mitigates transparent glass windscreens at SUNY ESF to prevent bird building collisions.
Environmental illustrator Katie Mulligan created three of the five murals. Known for her artwork focused on New York’s wetland conservation, Mulligan brought regional themes into the designs. “I wanted to include something that wasn't only decorative, but also had a hint of our local environment,” she said. “There's a Mourning Dove on one of the windows that is based on the Mourning Dove couple that’s nesting near Baker Hall. All of the plant life is also native or occurring in New York state as well. When I started at Baker Hall, I picked some of the top species that collide with windows in New York State.”
Barges, an Onondaga Audubon board member who researches bird-friendly building policies, helped guide the project’s design to ensure it followed evidence-based practices. “Collisions are completely preventable,” she said. “The science is clear—with bird-friendly design that treats all glass with a minimum 2”x2” pattern, we can significantly save bird lives.”
Barges designed and painted a mural of a hummingbird flying over a field of flowers, with floral stencils, in front of upper Baker Hall. ESF undergraduate student Emily McClary helped add the stenciling. The Birch tree mural was designed and created by Barges and SUNY ESF undergraduate students Leila Kaufman, of the Mighty Oaks Student Club, and Jenelle Grigelevich.
The project received final approval in late March, just in time for New York’s spring migration season, which runs from April 1 to May 31. This timing was key, as tens of millions of birds pass through Onondaga County during this period.
The new murals have drawn serious attention on campus. Students have responded positively, not only for the conservation effort but also for the unexpected addition of beautiful, nature-themed art to their daily surroundings.
The murals will remain in place through the spring and early summer. If successful, the initiative could serve as a model for permanent installations at SUNY ESF and seasonal mitigation projects at other institutions looking to reduce bird deaths caused by glass collisions.
The ESF community hopes the combination of science and art will lead to lasting change—and fewer bird casualties on campus.
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