It is estimated that collisions with glass kill around a billion birds in the US alone (see here and here). The issue is particularly acute where major migratory routes overlap with urban centres. Light pollution causes migratory birds to become disoriented and, often exhausted, they drop down into urban green spaces. It is here that they are exposed to a raft of anthropogenic threats, including the risk of collision with glass. Most collisions happen in daytime during foraging, and at lower levels (particularly the first five floors). The main issue is the reflection of habitats that causes birds to see potential shelter and foraging sites and, flying at full speed, impact can often be fatal.
There are few data from China on the scale of bird collisions but, given that many of China’s major cities are located on a major flyway, it is reasonable to assume that the scale could be similar to North America.
A few months ago, at a meeting of Ambassadors for Nature, Bruno Angelet, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to China, told me that his Embassy had experienced a few bird strikes (bird collisions with glass). Although sad to hear, it was not surprising given the new Embassy building is glass-intensive with large glass windows adjacent to the embassy garden, in which can be seen reflections of trees, shrubs and sky.
I mentioned the work that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) had implemented earlier this year, in partnership with local NGO – ShanShui Conservation Center – and TenCent Foundation, following the discovery of bird collisions around their headquarters in central Beijing. The AIIB bird collision project was inspired by the nocturnal migration project, that was conducted from the roof of its HQ near the Olympic Park. That project raised awareness about the extent of nocturnal migration over the AIIB’s HQ and led to staff taking more notice of migratory birds in the vicinity of their workplace, finding victims that had collided with glass, and wanting to do something about it.
Bruno was keen to draw on that experience to reduce the risk of bird collisions at his Embassy.
A few short weeks later, thanks to the Embassy staff in cooperation with ShanShui Conservation Center, work has just been completed to retrofit patterned film to the highest risk windows at the Belgian Embassy. The film is essentially a pattern of dots that helps to break up the reflection, reducing the risk of birds mistaking the reflection for suitable habitat.
The Belgian Embassy’s work to tackle the risk of bird collisions is the latest in a string of high-profile projects in China.
In 2023, tech giant TenCent retrofitted its flagship HQ in Shenzhen with patterned film following the discovery by concerned staff of dead birds around glass windows.
This year, TenCent went a step further and retrofitted glass around its Beijing office in a similar way.
And, in addition to AIIB’s efforts on their HQ, Beijing Forestry University found a creative solution to addressing the risk of bird collisions on their campus following a campaign by students.
These are just a few of the recent examples in China, many of which have been inspired by the work of the China Anti-Bird Collision Alliance, a group of volunteers, NGOs and academics coordinated by Duke Kunshan University.
Addressing bird collision risk is one of the elements of the Pledge for `Nature adopted by the Ambassadors for Nature initiative. Together with the New Zealand Embassy’s piloting of ultraviolet patterns to mitigate bird collision risk, the Belgian Embassy’s work sets a great example for others to follow and we expect that other Embassies with significant areas of glass will follow suit.
Thanks again to Bruno Angelet and his team and to ShanShui Conservation Center for supporting this work!