Every Wednesday morning during spring and fall migration seasons, Peter DeStefano walks the brick sidewalks of Independence Mall in Old City in search of birds — dead ones. A volunteer for Bird Safe Philly, DeStefano combs the areas where, because of an abundance of large windows, migrating birds are most likely to meet their demise.
Man-made infrastructure is a huge problem for migrating birds. Over a billion (with a b) birds die each year from crashing into buildings in the United States alone. Bird Safe Philly — a partnership between the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Audubon Mid-Atlantic, Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, National Audubon Society, Valley Forge Audubon Society and Liberty Bird Alliance — advocates for bird safety and tracks a portion of these migratory bird deaths in the city. On the lookout for birds who have met a terrible fate, volunteers traverse a variety of spaces in Philadelphia.
On this particular April morning, there are no dead birds for DeStefano to discover. The yawning sun peaks out over the buildings lining the eastern side of Independence Mall and through clouds lingering from the previous evening’s rain showers. Lively birds sing from perches on the branches of blossoming sycamores and atop the Liberty Bell Center’s ivy-draped trellises as Philadelphia wakes up for another spring day. DeStefano found two dead yellow-bellied sapsuckers the previous week but says the migratory season hasn’t yet gotten into full swing.
If someone decided to treat the windows, maybe the bird wouldn’t have met its end.”
— Peter DeStefano, Bird Safe Philly volunteer
DeStefano, who has been associated with Bird Safe Philly for two years and birding for 30, is ecstatic about his volunteer work. “It’s crazy to hold [a bird] in your hand!” he exclaims. “To know that a bird migrated and survived thousands of miles to get here and to feel how weightless it is is fascinating.” At the same time, finding a bird is not a victory. “If someone decided to treat the windows, maybe the bird wouldn’t have met its end.”
After his walk, DeStefano sends a text to the Bird Safe Philly group chat: “No birds for pickup.” At Ciocca Subaru in Grays Ferry, however, a different story unfolds.
Nina Chung, a former environmental educator and amateur birder, walks the perimeter of the dealership on Thursday mornings. She says she finds up to three dead birds per walk at the concrete foot of the showroom’s giant glass walls. And as migration season picks up in the coming weeks, she is certain she’ll find more.
“It’s just a really cool thing to be a part of. Picking up a small bird that died from a collision is a powerful experience, because they are often so light and fragile because of their hollow bones,” she says. “To be part of an effort trying to save them from unnecessary human-caused deaths is a poignant and wonderful thing.”
Several places in Philadelphia — Sister Cities Café and PATCO’s newly redesigned Franklin Square Station — have treated their windows. According to the Bird Safe Philly website, applying dense patterns, like dots or artwork, to a glass surface allows birds to recognize the windows as the impenetrable barriers they are. The cost of application varies from building to building, but Audubon claims that “the price is often just 5% higher than standard glass.”
There are ways to advance Bird Safe Philly’s cause, though, even if you don’t have decision-making power over glass installation. “We are always looking for more volunteers,” Chung says, noting that any of the city’s many birding clubs can provide a path of entry into bird appreciation and advocacy. She also encourages residents to participate in Bird Safe Philly’s Lights Out Philly program by turning off or blocking as many external and internal lights as possible at night during birds’ spring and fall migration seasons. “It’s the biggest and easiest thing you can do to help migrating birds.”
