Mike Quigley is for the birds — literally.
The first-term congressman introduced legislation Tuesday that would require bird-safe materials and design features be used to the maximum extent possible on all new and renovated buildings maintained by the General Services Administration. The bill is similar to legislation the Illinois Democrat championed in 2008 when he was on the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
The clouds in the sky and the clouds reflected in this building's windows look the same to a bird.
I am proud to build upon the work we did in Cook County to promote bird-safe building and spearhead an initiative at the national level that will make sure our tall buildings are not safety hazards. This bill will not only save millions of birds’ lives, but it is also completely cost neutral.
Collisions with buildings and other man-made objects is one of the leading causes of bird deaths, according the bill, HR 4797. Several design guides have been published to promote bird-friendly construction, and there’s even a website dedicated to the issue.
GSA already has incorporated bird-friendly features such as non-reflective glass and awnings into many of its buidlings, including the San Francisco Federal Building, the Suitland, Md., Census Complex and the U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, Ore. Quigley’s legislation would require similar efforts for all of GSA’s federal facilities.
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I have had experiances with birds flying into windows they survived many times but often left them disorinted