Between 750 million to 1 billion birds are killed in North America each year as a result of collisions with artificial structures. Several hundred million collisions result from windows in buildings, particularly plate glass and other highly transparent or reflective glass. Unfortunately birds have not evolved to navigate an environment of transparent glass.
In response to this problem, Golden Gate Audubon joined with San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond and Alameda city planning staff and other conservation advocates to design and implement standards for bird-safe buildings.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved Standards for Bird-Safer Buildings in September 2011, which were signed into law by Mayor Ed Lee in October 2011. You can read the San Francisco standards here.
The City of Oakland’s planning staff added Bird Safety Measures to their standard building permit requirements in June 2013. You can read about the Oakland measures on our blog or read the measures themselves here.
In 2016 Richmond approved Bird Safe Standards.
In 2018 Alameda approved Bird Safe Building Standards and a Dark Skies ordinance.
Further resources:
2011 KQED Quest podcast and article on bird safe buildings.
2012 Video on Bird-Safe Building Standards by San Francisco filmmaker Matt Baker:
Contact the San Francisco Bird Strike Hotline
Click here to report injured birds found outside of buildings. You can also report by email to safebirds@goldengateaudubon.org or by called Golden Gate Audubon at (510) 843-2222 with the following information:
- Date and time
- Address including cross streets
- Location details
- Species of bird, photograph if possible
- Male or female, if known
- Adult or juvenile bird, if known
- Condition of bird
- Did you see or hear the collision? If so, please provide a description:
- Weather
- Your Phone Number or Email Address: