Eagles blend art with science to help prevent birds hitting buildings
- Laurie D. Babcock
- Learning
- Contributors: James Greco, Photos
7 – minute read
According to the alma mater, “Where Our Wings Will Take Us,” Florida Gulf Coast University students “can fly just as far / As our dreams let us go.”
For birds, however, dreams are less of a problem than buildings. Avian flights are often cut short by windows they mistake for open air. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an estimated 1 billion birds die from hitting buildings annually in the U.S. The agency says more proactive measures are needed to prevent further bird population declines, which harm ecosystems and reduce economic and ecological benefits. Dwindling bird populations also mean fewer chances to witness their soaring flights or hear their melodies — experiences that ground us in the beauty of nature.
Addressing this issue at a local level is an interdisciplinary team of FGCU faculty, staff and students learning about the biology of avian vision, conducting innovative research and creating beautiful artwork to protect our feathered friends. The Bird Safe Window Project was a collaborative effort of the FGCU art galleries, an assistant professor of ornithology and the student-run Ornithology Club.
Learning the wind’s great secrets
Edwin Wilke (’24, environmental studies), the most recent president of the Ornithology Club, says the reflection of trees and sky in building windows can be disorienting for birds.
“They don’t register it as a barrier, so they fly into it and either die on impact or fly off in shock and die somewhere else.”
The Ornithology Club took this concern under its wing after art major Soph Shikes reached out to the group about a dead gray catbird near the Arts Complex. Members collected the specimen and shared it with Oscar Johnson, an assistant professor of ornithology in the Department of Biological Sciences.
“Soph really wanted to launch a collaborative project between the art galleries, which they work for, and the Ornithology Club,” Wilke says.
Shikes recruited help from Anica Sturdivant, the assistant curator of FGCU’s art galleries, who served as the project coordinator. The two attended an Ornithology Club meeting in fall 2024 and discussed how they could work with the club to help protect campus birds.
“The goal was to make windows visible to birds without obstructing the view for humans while also creating a successful visual addition to the exterior design of a building,” Sturdivant says.
Art major gallery assistants measured windows on the front of the Arts Complex and created a blueprint for student designers. The gallery staff tested various methods of applying the line drawings in order to find material that would not mar the window surfaces and would hold up to Southwest Florida’s intense weather while being easy to remove.
The design includes drawings of native trees, grasses and several types of birds, including two types of herons, an anhinga and a spotted sandpiper. The line art is complemented by dots spaced every two inches in a grid to span the windows.
“It took all semester to research and gather volunteers and plan the events, and we found a team of really passionate artists who also love birds,” Wilke says. “We’re really happy with how it came out.”
Facing a new horizon
How does the artwork help birds?
“As long as there’s something every two inches that breaks up the reflection in the glass, the birds register it as a barrier instead of something they can fly through,” Wilke says.
Student volunteers used paper stencils and white grease pencils made of water-resistant wax to create an attractive as well as cost-effective solution.
“We did some testing throughout the semester and it survived both hurricanes. You really have to scrub it to get it off,” he says.
Wilke calls it a semi-permanent installment that can easily be changed. “They can take it down and have some new artists come in and do a whole new installment with a different theme.”
In addition to preventing bird strikes, the project blends art with ecology and cultivates a deep sense of ecological stewardship.
“This experience prepares students to contribute to sustainability initiatives in their future careers and communities, empowering them to be proactive leaders in addressing environmental challenges,” Sturdivant says.
The turnout for the December ribbon-cutting ceremony for the artwork was enthusiastic and feedback since then has been positive, according to Wilke.
“We had a great group of students and faculty as well as the two local chapters of the Audubon Society — Audubon of Southwest Florida and the Peace River Audubon Society.” He said both chapters have been hoping for a partnership between the campus and the Audubon Society, to innovate a solution for this problem.
“There have been lots of compliments on the artistic look of it, as well as it’s so great that it saves birds. So overall, very positive.”
Although he has graduated, Wilke expects to see bird strike prevention projects continue. The Ornithology Club is planning a similar semi-permanent project at Whitaker Hall, and the art galleries staff have invited alumni artists exhibiting in the Wasmer Art Gallery in October 2025 to design a new bird-safe set of windows for the Arts Complex.
“I’m so proud of what the community did to make this happen and what our club and the faculty and the galleries accomplished,” Wilke says.
By safeguarding avian journeys, faculty, staff and students embody the FGCU spirit of “flying far and high” with innovation and purpose. This project and the future designs it may produce ensure that our feathered friends can continue their journeys uninterrupted — like all the FGCU students striving to reach new heights.
