San Jose adopts bird-friendly building standard

San Jose has adopted bird-friendly standards for the city’s buildings.

The city is the fourth northern California community to adopt guidelines that are meant to reduce instances of birds colliding with buildings. San Francisco adopted a similar measure in 2011; Oakland followed in 2013; and Sunnyvale did likewise in 2014.

The standard includes avoiding large chunks of transparent or reflective glass, shutting off non-emergency lights at night, and adding fritting–ceramic lines or dots on glass–on existing structures. Collisions with buildings are one of the most significant causes of bird mortality worldwide.

San Jose is situated in the Pacific Flyway Migration Corridor. Millions of birds pass through the Corridor during twice-annual migrations.