Opinion: Saving Minnesota birds starts with safer buildings

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Scientists have long recognized birds as key indicators of environmental health. As Minnesota ecologist Sean Peterson told me: “Birds are one of the best tools for understanding how healthy ecosystems work. They’re our ‘canaries in the coal mine.’ ” When bird populations decline, it’s often an early warning that something is seriously wrong.

Right now in Minnesota, the canary is falling silent — and we should be paying attention. With spring migration underway, this is the perfect time to take action to protect birds.

Over the past 50 years, nearly 3 billion birds have disappeared. Due to habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change and other human-caused environmental factors, North American bird populations have plummeted by 30% since 1970.

One leading cause of bird mortality is collisions with buildings. Building strikes kill an estimated 1 billion birds every year in the U.S. alone. Windows are the primary culprit. Birds often mistake reflections of trees or sky on the glass for the real thing.

In Minnesota, taking action for birds is especially important. The Mississippi Flyway — which includes Minnesota — is one of the greatest bird migration corridors on the planet, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Roughly 60% of North American birds depend on the Mississippi Flyway for food, shelter and safe passage on their long journeys.

But sadly, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Twin Cities is one of the worst urban areas in the country for migrating birds. The lab’s 2019 study found that bright nighttime lights in Minneapolis and St. Paul disorient birds in the flyway and increase building strikes.

Fortunately, affordable and effective solutions are available to reduce bird collisions with buildings — and both residents and businesses can help. One simple step is turning off lights at night, which helps prevent migrating birds from becoming disoriented and striking buildings. Another is making glass more visible by applying bird-safe films or decals to the outside of windows. Both DIY and store-bought options are widely available online.

Consider Chicago’s McCormick Place Lakeside Center. For more than 40 years, birds have been crashing into this large glass building on the Lake Michigan waterfront. During a single night in fall 2023, nearly 1,000 songbirds died after colliding with the structure. The incident made national news, and soon after, Lakeside Center installed bird-safe film on its windows. The following fall, bird fatalities on site dropped by 90%.

Other buildings around the country have also reduced bird fatalities through window solutions. In Minnesota, the Bell Museum in St. Paul and the Minneapolis Public Service Building on 4th Avenue S. both installed glass designed to prevent bird strikes. Since 2016, all new skyways in Minneapolis are required by ordinance to use bird-safe glass.

Many previously constructed buildings have failed to take action, resulting in countless bird deaths. U.S. Bank Stadium, with its reflective exterior, continues to be a hotspot for bird collisions each spring and fall. Members of the local Audubon chapter have been known to patrol downtown during peak migration to count and collect the dead birds.

While bird lovers may feel especially connected to this issue, the reality is that building collisions affect all of us. Birds are critical to the health of our planet’s ecosystems. They control pests, pollinate plants and disperse seeds. Research indicates that the presence of birds also has a positive impact on human health and happiness.

Many threats to birds — like habitat loss and climate change — are complex, but building collisions are a problem we can more easily solve. Simple and affordable solutions, like turning off lights at night and applying window decals, can dramatically reduce bird fatalities.

By holding property owners accountable to a higher standard of care for the environment, we can help sustain Minnesota’s diverse bird populations for generations to come.

Julie Knopp is a Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer and a board member at Compassionate Action for Animals in Minneapolis.