Photo: Central College, Pella, Iowa
(Pella, IA) -- Central College in Pella appears to have resolved a deadly problem. Biology Professor Russ Benedict says for years, birds have been crashing into windows at the Roe Center on campus, with deadly consequences. He says trees line the walkway leading up to the building, and highly reflective windows on the 2nd floor create a mirror image of the trees, fooling dozens of birds each year (especially during migration season). Benedict says the birds would collide into the windows and not survive.
Benedict and Central College Art Professor Mathew Kelly collaborated with students to create and design CollidEscape stickers for the window.
"Birds are drawn to the windows because they reflect the sky and trees so well. They cannot differentiate between what is real and what isn't real until it's too late," Benedict says. "One of the leading causes of bird deaths is collisions with windows, with an estimated half a billion birds dying across the U.S. annually." He says it's one of many factors in bird population losses.
Funding for the window mural came from an Iowa Department of Natural Resources grant and the Green Fund from the Central Student Senate.
Listen to a more in-depth discussion with Benedict on the WHO Radio Focus podcast.