Sustainability Now! | Heidi Trudell | Bird-Friendly Buildings | 12-22-25

On this week's show, your host, Justin Mog, soars to great heights in defense of our feathered friends, bringing you a conversation about how to make our urban environments safer for birds with Heidi Trudell, a Bird Friendly Specialist and Technical Advisor with Guardian Glass of Auburn Hills, MI (https://guardianglass.com). Bird collisions are a huge problem. 44% happen at homes, 56% happen at non-residential low rise buildings. Less than 1% happen at skyscrapers. The most dangerous part of any structure is any material from the ground up to the top of the mature tree canopy that is reflective or transparent. If a bird hits and flies away, there’s a >60% chance that it will die from its injuries and it’s not just the ‘young, inexperienced birds are the ones that hit.’ And this is not just an issue relevant to large structures. Even bus shelters can kill a dozen birds a year (the general range is 2 to 20) without proper design. The good news is that we have the technology to fix this problem! The bird-friendly material space has changed a LOT in the last two decades. New buildings have more options than ever for products that to humans look clear, opaque, translucent, etc. Codes have driven up availability as well. Existing buildings have retrofit options that can be highly effective as long as the material is on the OUTSIDE of the glass, spaced every 2 inches if it’s a 2d material (such as vinyl dots, etching, or painted patterns). Another option is 3D ‘wind curtains’ hanging in front of the glass, and for that wider spacing may be equally effective – especially if the cords are reflected in the glass, it will look like there are 2x as many cords. We also discuss issues of timing (when most collisions occur) and lighting. Heidi recommends these online resources: Record bird strikes (alive or dead) at https://birdmapper.org (useful for researchers) Intro to collisions/prevention: https://rosemarymosco.com/comics/bird-and-moon/windows During migration (Mar-May, Aug 15-Nov 15), tracking/forecasts: https://birdcast.info/ Found a live bird that hit a window? Carefully collect it and use https://ahnow.org to find a rehabber (Animal Help Now has an app as well) Explore Guardian Glass' visualizer for what different window treatments look like in different conditions: https://digitaltools.guardianglass.com/tools/visualizer/?siteregion=global&leftproduct=snx-70-on-clear&leftrange=sunguard-snx-70&leftregion=usca&leftconditions=bluesky&leftbird=Etch-DX22&leftspandrel=frit-xral-blue-grey&rightproduct=snx-70-on-clear&rightrange=sunguard-snx-70&rightregion=usca&rightconditions=bluesky&rightbird=S1-Frit-DX22&rightspandrel=frit-xral-blue-grey&view=close-up-camera&mode=dark&format=normal As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at https://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at https://appalatin.com