Bozeman Fish Technology Center Steps Up to Save Birds!
By Paulette Epple
If you stop by the Bozeman Fish Technology Center while birding or hiking on the Drinking Horse Mountain Trail you may be surprised to see that the Center has treated their windows with dots, LOTS OF DOTS, to save birds.
The grounds around the Tech Center are a renowned birding hot spot, with a rich mixture of habitat at the mouth of Bridger Canyon. Sadly, all too often, employees would hear a thud as another bird would crash into their windows. Birds as diverse as warblers to belted kingfishers have died when they were fooled by images of habitat reflected in the glass. Though the Fish Technology Center is focused on fish-related research, it is part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), a leader in the conservation of wildlife. An initiative by USFWS to protect migratory birds from window strikes was prompted by the estimate that up to a billion birds die each year in window collisions in the United States.
This past September, Fish Technology Center employees installed CollidEscape dots in a 2-inch by 2-inch pattern on all the windows of the main Robert Piper Building, plus a few more windows on surrounding buildings. CollidEscape can be purchased in 2-foot-wide bulk rolls and cut to fit each window, making installation easy and practical. Employees in the office building reported finding the dot pattern a bit dizzying to look through at first, but soon they hardly noticed them. Most importantly, there has not been a single bird/glass strike reported since installation!
We should all be so inspired to protect birds by treating our windows to avoid deadly bird collisions. Sacajawea Audubon Society encourages all homeowners and business owners to treat their windows to make them safe for birds, especially those windows close to feeders or especially prone to bird strikes. You can discover several products and do-it-yourself techniques to use on our website at: https://sacajaweaaudubon.org/project/bird-safe-windows/
