Bird Brigade student artist at work. Photo: Fresh Artists
Project Spotlights
Yellow Warbler. Photo: George Armistead
Art supplies package. Photo: Fresh Artist
Independence National Historical Park Glazing Projects
Independence National Historical Park (INHP) is a 55-acre park located in downtown Philadelphia, managed by the National Park Service (NPS). It is home to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell and is a very popular tourist destination, attracting millions of visitors a year. Since 2021 Bird Safe Philly volunteers, working with INHP, have monitored five of the park’s modern buildings for bird collisions throughout spring and fall migration and have documented collisions on a regular basis. As a result, INHP and the NPS created a plan to retrofit the park’s collision prone buildings with materials that will help prevent collisions.
In March 2026 all of the Pavilion’s windows, 9000 sq. ft. of glass, were retrofitted with Bird Divert, a product which uses signals in the ultraviolet spectrum to help birds avoid flying into windows. It helps to reduce the number of collisions at the Pavilion, while preserving maximum visibility through the building’s windows for its human visitors. And a new addition that was added to the First Bank of the United States building was constructed using glass printed with rows of black dots which are most often used to prevent birds from attempting to fly through glass that appears transparent.
Bird Safe Philly applauds INHP and the NPS for initiating this work, which will not only reduce the number of birds colliding with park buildings, especially during the spring and fall when over 120 different species of birds have been documented using the park as a stopover location during their migrations, but also allow millions of park visitors, especially the large number expected to visit the park in 2026 for the United States’ 250th birthday, to learn about bird collisions and how they can be prevented.
Park visitors can access a QR code at the Liberty Bell Pavilion linking to this project description on the NHP and the NPS website. More information about Bird Divert is here. Read this full Project Spotlight here.
Sister Cities Café
Bird Safe Philly and the Center City District unveiled the installation of bird-friendly window treatments on the extensive glass walls at the Café, designed to mitigate bird deaths and injuries caused by bird collisions on Monday, October 2, 2023 at the Sister Cities Café on Logan Circle. This Sister Cities Café project was conceived as a means to demonstrate what can be done — an important milestone for Bird Safe Philly to promote positive actions that property owners can adapt to their own buildings to make them bird safe. Approximately 1,000 sq ft of glass was retrofitted with Feather Friendly Bird Collision Deterrent Markers. Read more here in this brochure.
Briar Bush Nature Center
Bird Safe Philly and Briar Bush Nature Center in Abington partnered to address bird collisions at the center. Approximately 500 square feet of glass was retrofitted on several buildings, including the bird observatory with Feather Friendly Bird Collision Deterrent Markers. Installation occurred April 2023 for spring migration and as part of 2023 EarthFest.
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy
The 3rd grade science classes of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Lower School, partnered with Bird Safe Philly to apply Feather Friendly Bird Collision Deterrent Markers and their own custom-made bird decals to the cafeteria windows. These windows reflect the surrounding trees of the Wissahickon, and the school has observed birds collided with these windows. We hope to continue this partnership with SCH and protect birds from colliding with windows at other locations on the school’s campus.
Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust
Bird Safe Philly and Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust partnered to address bird collisions on the trust property including the BLBB Charitable Field Station, Visitors Center, and other buildings. Approximately 175 sq ft of glass was retrofitted with Feather Friendly Bird Collision Deterrent Markers. Installation occurred October 2023 and was completed by 17 volunteers!
A collaborative effort with Fresh Artists is helping to create a deeper appreciation for birds among students and their families in the Philadelphia region, while bringing broader awareness to the issue of bird collisions. Student artists from Philly, Camden and Norristown schools created Bird Portraits, which were featured in the Fresh Artist "Bird Brigade" Exhibition at the 2021 Philadelphia Flower Show, along with an informative panel about bird collisions and solutions. Watch this video to learn more.
In collaboration with Bird Safe Philly, PECO is helping to keep our night sky safe for migrating birds. As a participant in Lights Out Philly, PECO is ensuring their buildings interior lights, activated by light sensors, are dark when not in use. In addition, PECO's iconic Crown Lights feature movement and are dimmer during this season, to reduce attractiveness to birds at night. This information was featured in PECO's August 2021 edition of Energy@Home.