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Saving Billions of Birds from Windows
Birds behave as if sheet glass is invisible to them. They strike clear and reflective window panes in all types of human-built structures worldwide with death rates in the billions every year.
The science documenting this significant scale of loss has been known for decades, but only recently have meaningful efforts to address the problem begun. In this book, Dr. Daniel Klem, Jr., describes and summarizes the challenges and solutions to this important conservation issue to protect our beloved birds. Architects, developers, legislators, legal professionals, urban planners, homeowners, and renters alike can use this book as a guide to creating a more bird-friendly world.
Unlike the complexities of other environmental challenges, such as climate change, this important conservation issue for birds and people can be solved right now. The blueprint to start is described within these pages and will serve as our guide in supporting this worthy effort.
“In 2008, I had the good fortune of meeting Dr. Daniel Klem Jr. at the 4th International Conference in McAllen, Texas. I knew of his research on window crashes from an article I had read about him, and I had a few questions for him. He invited me to join him for lunch. After we finished, we spent the afternoon birding the Rio Grande Valley, home to a host of birds either not found, or rarely seen, in other parts of the country. We ended the day on a first name basis and he became a member of Saving Birds Thru Habitat.
This is not simply a book documenting a thoroughly dedicated man’s years of careful research. It is an inspirational view into the life and efforts of a researcher who never gave up his efforts to educate a public that often seems indifferent to the losses which he takes very personally. We at Saving Birds are acutely aware of the avian losses involving window crashes and have included the issue in all of our presentations. Now we have a group working with Dan and his colleagues at Muhlenberg College. This brochure is on our website for downloading. We urge you to check it out, print it out, and share it with others. Then pick up a copy of Solid Air and learn more about the details of Dan’s efforts, his failures, and successes.”
– Kay Charter, Executive Director of Saving Birds Thru Habitat
100 Million - 1 Billion
Birds Killed
In his 1990 papers "Bird injuries, cause of death, and recuperation from collisions with windows" and "Collisions between birds and windows: mortality and prevention", Dr. Klem calculated that between 100 million and 1 billion birds are killed, annually, in the United States alone, by flying into windows.
Meet the Author
Daniel Klem Jr. is a United States ornithologist, known for his pioneering research into the mortality of birds due to glass windows. He is currently a Sarkis Acopian Professor of Ornithology and Conservation Biology at Muhlenberg College.
For the last 47 years and continuing to the present he studies, writes, and teaches about birds. His most prestigious awards are the students and professional colleagues he has sparked an interest in bird study. His research has influenced the design of buildings, not least the Niagara Falls State Park Observation Tower, on which he was a design consultant. He holds several US patents relating to windows design. He led and co-authored the scientific part of the Birds of Armenia Project (BOA) whose principal goal was to use bird study to promote an environmental ethic and the preservation of natural lands in the Republic of Armenia from 1992-2000.
Most of his current research consists of using detailed observations and experiments to evaluate novel bird-window collision deterrent prototypes, preparing review papers describing the historic and lastest means to save birds from windows, and serving as a technical consultant to glass manufacturers developing bird-safe sheet glass, various national and international conservation organizations, and local, regional, and federal government agencies the world over.
" This is the book we have been waiting for. Daniel Klem has been the leading researcher on bird-window collisions throughout his long career, and thanks to him there is now widespread recognition of the magnitude and severity of the problem, and of measures that can reduce it. And to no one’s surprise, the book is written in the engaging, personal style that are Klem’s hallmark. Enjoy this book, and then act. "
— Prof. David Fraser, Animal Welfare Program, Univ. of British Columbia