NERON SIMPSON
Special to The Leader
Graphic by Dice Yandow
Everyone has had at least one moment in their life where they have walked into a glass, but most people do not die from it. Birds passing through SUNY Fredonia cannot say the same.
In October 2021, former managing editor of The Leader and Fredonia alum Jules Hoepting covered the tragic occurrence of bird carcasses surrounding the Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center.
In the article, “Dead birds of Rockefeller: A student’s dedication to decrease the deceased,” Hoepting reported that migratory birds would mistake the clear glass window reflections as real trees. In flying towards the windows, they would hit the glass and collapse to the ground, often succumbing to their injuries. Students passing by the building each day would notice an increase in bird carcasses. They organized a movement to address the problem.
Justine Bloom was a student advocate for the movement. They reached out to Dr. Jonathan Titus, a now retired professor of the Fredonia Biology Department, to strategize solutions. Titus mentioned that he had noticed the dead birds for years and had informed campus leaders but to no avail. He emphasized that school administrators would more likely be receptive if students were the ones voicing concerns.
Various efforts were made to convince campus authorities and department faculty to take action on the problem. Bloom and students in the Visual Arts and New Media (VANM) Department created posters asking onlookers if they were tired of seeing dead birds all over Rockefeller’s sidewalk. QR codes on Bloom’s poster linked to an article and comic that provided an in-depth explanation to the situation.
A meeting was held with Sarah Laurie, director of Fredonia’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety and Sustainability; Markus Kessler, director of Facilities Planning; Michael Metzger, vice president of Finance and Administration; Visual Arts and New Media professors Jason Dilworth and Peter Tucker; and former science major and Fredonia alum Chloe Petry with Bloom and Titus in attendance.
One proposition was the placement of bird strike film in the form of vinyl polka dot stickers for the windows.
“The birds don’t see the glass, they see a space they can fly into or a reflection of their habitat. So, when you put the dots there, you’re breaking up the space and then they’ll see the dots and they’ll look at the space inbetween the dots and consider [if they] can fly between [those] dots,” Bloom explained in an interview with The Leader last year.
However, due to window replacements on the second and third floor of Rockefeller in 2019, the 10-year warranty would be at risk of violation with the installation of the stickers. Another concern was that the stickers would add extra weight to the glass.
Approval to place the stickers would have to be authorized by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Rockefeller was designed by I.M. Pei and Associates in 1955, which was an architectural firm founded by renowned Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei. Pei’s work is protected under SHPO.
“There are some things that we might have to jump through there,” Bloom said. “But, for the most part, with how unobtrusive the dots could be to the human eye, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
There was also the issue of gaining enough funding to purchase the stickers and apply them. If State university funds were to be used, approval would need to be obtained from non-SUNY Fredonia authorities. It would also have to be proven that a significant number of birds were colliding into the windows.
In May 2021, two cameras were installed facing each other to document collisions. If an object crossed the view of the camera, a picture was taken and sent to Sarah Laurie. In October of that year, Laurie stated that “zero bird strikes” were recorded.
According to the Bird Strike Film report, The cost of installing the stickers would range from $69,000 to $76,000. With little to no incidents recorded in a six-month time frame after the cameras were installed, there was not enough proof for funding to be acquired.
It was also proposed to use SUNY Fredonia’s funding to cover the cost of the stickers. Barbara Racker, director of the Cathy and Jesse Marian Art Gallery, had offered to help provide funding, if she was able to “call it an art project [that] involves students.” She also obtained a quota of $27,201 for the stickers from local Fredonia sign shop Southpaw Signs & Stripes in April 2021.
This posed another challenge due to the stickers appearing in individual rolls instead of sheets. If applied incorrectly, they were at risk for being damaged and having to be replaced sooner than expected. There would also be no warranty, so any replacements would have to be financially covered by the college itself.
To get approval, the project would need to be reviewed by Michael Metzger, the then vice president of Finance and Administration. He stated in October that since the installation of the trial cameras, “To date, not one bird has hit the windows.” He added that they would continue to monitor the area and periodically check the ground for carcasses.
Since the initial article was published, there has not seemed to be as much interest amongst current students. Some of the students who championed the movement have graduated, and incoming students may not be aware of the issue.
However, on an administrative level, there has been some progress. In November 2022, the University Senate passed a resolution to investigate the bird collision deaths at Rockefeller.
“When the campus Senate passes a resolution. Campus administration has a set amount of days to issue a response to it or a resolution,” Bloom said. “The response to mine was an official acknowledgment and that this will take more time to solve. They are going to put together a subcommittee to work on it. That is where we are right now.”
Fredonia President Stephen Kolison tasked the Planning and Budget Committee to conduct a feasibility study and recommend three or fewer potential solutions. Dr. Bruce Simon, University Senate chair and associate professor of English, is also forming a taskforce to implement the bird resolution.
An email conversation began in February of this year to share information between the offices of Environmental Health & Safety & Sustainability, the Office of Facilities Planning and the Planning and Budget Committee. Some possible courses of action were proposed. Currently, the Planning and Budget Committee is deciding on how to proceed.
“Any time the campus has to spend money, you really want to maximize your efficiency with it to make sure you are not wasting it,” Bloom said. “This is a matter that would take over $10,000 dollars worth of material and [lots of] manpower. Any large scale commitment requires multiple boards to get involved … every major financial decision needs to have multiple eyes on it.”
Q+A with Sarah Laurie, Director of Environmental Health & Safety & Sustainability
Neron Simpson (NS): Has the amount of bird deaths outside of the Rockefeller Arts Center decreased since this article was published in the Fall of 2021?
Sarah Laurie (SL): “Unreliable and inconsistent data make it difficult to ascertain if bird deaths have increased, decreased or remained the same since 2021.”
NS: Have any solutions (permanent or temporary) been implemented to decrease the amount of bird deaths since this article was published?
SL: “No solutions have yet been implemented. As noted above, options are in the discussion phase with the Planning and Budget Committee before recommendations are made to the President’s Cabinet.”
NS: Now that there has been an extended period of time to collect data from cameras surrounding Rockefeller, have there been any bird deaths recorded?
SL: “Zero bird deaths were recorded with the trail cameras. Student Justine Bloom created a report by which campus individuals could photograph and log bird deaths, which is the only available data we have at this time.”
NS: Was campus policy affected by the student response to the bird problem? How significant was the student response to the bird problem?
SL: “Campus policy has not yet been affected, but as I noted, discussions are taking place. Student response has so far been minimal in regard to the number of students involved. A handful of passionate students have taken the lead to document bird deaths and submit a resolution to University Senate.”
Q+A with Justine Bloom, Earth Science Major
Neron Simpson (NS): Has the amount of bird deaths outside of the Rockefeller Arts Center decreased since this article was published in the Fall of 2021?
Justine Bloom (JB): “The amount of bird deaths has generally remained constant, because no major campus action has been taken to alleviate the pressure that the northward windows exert on the bird population. We are seeing higher bird deaths in the fall, and lower amounts of deaths in the spring. This is due to the direction of bird migrations, where in the fall birds are migrating from north to south, and thus hit the northward facing windows. During the spring, the birds are flying south to north, and largely avoid that northward window group, though some local birds have still hit the windows during the spring.”
NS: Have any solutions (permanent or temporary) been implemented to decrease the amount of bird deaths since this article was published?
JB: “There have not been any significantly impactful solutions implemented in RAC, through there is now a task group (comprised of interested faculty and myself) that is working on researching potential long term solutions such as window vinyl appliques that are both cost effective and feasible to purchase/apply as a SUNY institution. The University Senate approved my resolution during one of the fall 2022 meetings to officially recognize that there is a bird issue on campus and that they will take timely and rational action to begin reducing these bird deaths by Rockefeller.”
NS: Now that there has been an extended period of time to collect data from cameras surrounding Rockefeller, have there been any bird deaths recorded?
JB: “The cameras, as far as I know, have not actually recorded any bird deaths on video. My student survey that reports dead bird sightings to a spreadsheet has recorded the continuation of bird deaths in the area, so I don’t think that the trail cams are actually a suitable way to judge whether or not bird strikes are occurring. The trail cams are usually used to record a slow frame rate video of large animal presences, and it’s highly likely that due to the small size of the birds hitting windows, and the high speed of the impacts, the cams simply aren’t advanced enough to accurately capture and thus show how many birds are striking the glass. It was a good idea, but just not executed to the level needed.”
NS: Was campus policy affected by the student response to the bird problem? How significant was the student response to the bird problem?
JB: “As far as campus policy goes, beside officially acknowledging my senate resolution, there have been no significant changes yet. I’d say that most visual art students are aware of the issue at this point, and they generally seem supportive of the surveys and report the dead birds that they see. I’ve also gotten multiple emails a month from students who have heard of me and either want to get involved somehow or just want more information on what’s going on. Some students are particularly distressed when they email me, and typically those emails also include pictures of dead birds they’ve found, and questions about why the deaths are happening and why nothing has been done yet. I usually explain to those students that I’ve begun working through the bureaucratic channels on campus, and that even though there isn’t visible change yet, there is still work being done.”
NS: As a student, have you seen other students concerned about the problem, or have taken any steps to address it recently?
JB: “Yes there are other students concerned! Katelyn M. Davis and Devin C. Banning are art majors (I believe) that are prominent birders on campus and in the community, and their reports and bird identification help has been very appreciated for this project. If you reach out to anyone else, I recommend that you contact them, and then Peter Tucker and Jason Dilworth. Peter and Jason are professors in RAC that have been very supportive of my work as well, and all four have brought very helpful contributions to the table. As far as recent steps go, the task group and I have been slowly working on researching feasible bird deterrent options for RAC, and the dead bird survey is still up and running, and receives a report or two per week.”