Environmental Commission looks to make Austin safer for birds

The Environmental Commission voted Wednesday to form a working group to delve into how Austin can live up to its “Bird City” title by creating bird-safe buildings.

The near-unanimous vote, with Colin Nickells abstaining, followed a presentation by Heidi Trudell, who researches the prevention of birds colliding with human-made structures and who prepared her report at the request of the Travis Audubon Society. Trudell previously presented her work to the Design Commission and the South Central Waterfront Advisory Board.

The working group will include commissioners Jennifer Bristol, Peter Einhorn and Dave Sullivan. Representatives of the Austin arm of the American Institute of Architects, Travis Audubon, the Design Commission and the Animal Advisory Commission will be asked to join the working group.

Texas lags behind other states and cities that have passed regulations requiring builders to integrate bird-friendly materials – such as covered light fixtures and nonreflective glass – into their developments.

The resolution introduced by Bristol notes that Austin could potentially lead the way for other Texas cities to adopt bird-safe design standards. An avid birder, Bristol said it’s “sobering” to witness the decline in bird species from season to season.

“Where you used to see hundreds of (species) a season, you may see 10 or 12 a season now,” she said. “It is real, it’s happening right now before our very eyes – and we can do something about it that’s positive.”

Craig Nazor, conservation chair of the Lone Star chapter of the Sierra Club, told the commission that the Animal Advisory Commission voted unanimously in 2022 to recommend that the City Council adopt bird-friendly design standards, but the recommendation “fell on deaf ears.” He said he has been bird watching for 40 years “and the number of birds in Austin and the species that I see is going down. It is going down significantly, and I just don’t see why the city of Austin wouldn’t want to get this (design ordinance) started.”

Maura Powers of the Travis Audubon Society, also speaking during public communication, suggested establishing a working group – such as the one the Environmental Commission approved – to review what policies are working in other cities to help determine next steps in Austin.

Austin was designated a “Bird City” last year by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, based on the city’s bird-friendly policies, which include a practice of limiting nonessential lighting during migration.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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