It’s fair to say Baltimore loves its birds, not just on the field with the Orioles and Ravens, but in the sky, too.
On Friday, city officials marked a major environmental milestone with a ribbon-cutting at the Vollmer Center in the ColdSpring Newtown neighborhood.
As peak bird migration season begins, bird lovers and staff from Baltimore City’s Recreation and Parks Department, say they expect fewer birds crashing into the Center’s windows, now that the all-glass building has been outfitted with protective film.
Christina Nutile with Rec and Parks says the difference has been dramatic.
“During migration season, we were seeing six to 10 bird strikes a day,” Nutile said. “Since installing the film in the first week of June, we’ve had zero. In fact, my staff and I have looked out the windows — in total wonderment — and watched birds fly full force, then stop and turn. It’s just incredible.”
“It is really incredible,” she repeated, as the crowd applauded, led by Councilwoman Sharon Green Middleton, who represents the area.
Lindsay Jack with Lights Out Baltimore says the issue isn’t just about volume — it’s about which birds are being lost.
“I wish I could say we’re finding something as common as a pigeon, house starlings or invasive species,” Jack said.
“We're finding the Baltimore oriole, the yellowthroat, the American woodcock, Magnolia warbler, whippoorwill, even a peregrine falcon,” she continued, emphasizing that such birds are mostly in the region seasonally.
According to Jack, Lights Out has collected more than 8,000 dead or injured birds along 20 buildings in the downtown corridor, since 2008.
“We’re those crazy people out at 5 a.m., walking downtown with nets to save birds that collide with buildings just like this,” she said.
Those incidents mostly occur between April and September, added Jack.
Beyond the impact on wildlife, glass-heavy buildings like the Vollmer can also burn through energy.
Eric Coffman, division director for the Maryland Energy Administration, said this project — the first municipal building in the city to use solar-reflective film — will also cut utility costs and save taxpayer dollars.
