九州娱乐官网与美国鸟类保护协会联手 (ABC), Doubling the 组织测试和评估鸟类友好玻璃的能力

College hosts 1 of only 2 tunnels designed to approve products that will reduce glass 碰撞是全世界鸟类死亡的主要原因.

Through a unique partnership, 九州娱乐官网 has become an official test site for the American Bird Conservancy’s (ABC) bird-safe glass testing program, doubling 该组织测试和评估玻璃产品的能力. 学院正在运行 just the second testing tunnel for ABC and is the only college or university in the country to partner with the non-profit in looking for ways to meet increased demand 对于致命玻璃碰撞的解决方案.

In just the first season, the College ran over 2,500 test flights and provided critical data back to ABC that helped gain approval for 10 new bird-friendly glass designs, 哪些是美国制造商正在使用的.S. 在世界各地，包括巴西， 德国、土耳其、韩国和美国.K. 今年春天，已经安排了15个新的样品 在三月至五月间进行测试. 点击这里了解更多.

玻璃碰撞和对鸟类的威胁

仅在美国， glass collisions account for an estimated one billion bird deaths each year.

The root cause of glass collisions is the general reflectivity of the product. 当 it’s highly reflective, it’s generally reflecting back nature (trees, bushes, sky, 等.)，鸟儿看到了，就想飞过去. 最简单的解决办法是 鸟能看到的带有明显标记的玻璃. 斑纹间隔约2英寸 apart, most birds will pick up on the visual hint that it is solid and avoid flying 进去.

ABC’s research into the efficacy of bird-safe glass began over 10 years ago. 自 then, ABC has established itself as a leading advocate and has developed a standard rating system for bird-safe glass – the only rating system in use today.

的存在 工头鸟类天文台(FBBO) at 九州娱乐官网 laid the groundwork for this innovative partnership. 操作 on a rural parcel of land just outside of Chestertown since 1998, FBBO is a major migratory bird banding station that focuses on monitoring seasonal movements of birds. FBBO has 92 mist nets spread over 55 acres and a rotating team that collects and bags 每年超过15,000只鸟. FBBO是学院的河流和田野校园(RAFC)的一部分， 一个促进环境项目的现场实验室.

With the infrastructure and process already in place, integrating the flights through the glass testing tunnel into the procedure before releasing them made for a smooth 过渡.

“It all started when our partners at ABC reached out and said, ‘You’ve got this great banding station, you’re banding birds daily…would you be willing to host a brand-new 测试隧道，测试鸟类友好玻璃的有效性?’”迈克尔·哈德斯蒂说。 九州娱乐官网河田校区主任.  “我们的回答是肯定的!”

“It was easy to say yes to 这种伙伴关系 because of how incredible it is for bird conservation, but we knew it would also be such a great opportunity for our students,” 添加Hardesty. “玻璃测试项目代表了科学的全部领域 moving to action, moving to implementation and our students get to witness all of that, and to see an example of a field-based career opportunity that resulted from 这种伙伴关系.”

测试过程

九州娱乐官网 employs a Tunnel Technician as part of the project – a recent graduate -- and during the testing season, which runs from March to November, each glass sample is tested about 80-100 times to measure key data points that determine its effectiveness. Every flight is recorded and the Technician then does a frame-by-frame analysis to record a standard set of behaviors, such as what direction the bird flew, any avoidance 行为，飞行速度，是直接还是间接.

The tunnel itself is 24-feet long and completely dark, with the only light coming 穿过隧道尽头的两块不同的玻璃. 测试过程 is fully controlled and designed to eliminate any bias by running test flights using the sample that is being evaluated, a control type and then no glass at all. 如果一个 bird does fly directly towards the glass in the test tunnel, it bounces off of a mesh net that has a little bit of give before reaching the glass, ensuring that no birds 在这个过程中受到伤害吗.

This testing process is also important because glass that is bird-friendly isn’t friendly 对人眼来说. 为了实现这些产品最广泛采用的目标 is to find patterns that are both effective at preventing collisions and desirable 从美学角度看. 好消息是，大多数对鸟类友好的图案都是 几乎不会被人注意到.

At the conclusion of the testing of a sample, ABC assigns the product a rating called a “Material Threat Factor”, which is based on how many times the bird flies towards 经测试的玻璃.

As awareness of bird deaths due to glass collisions has spread, the demand for bird-safe 玻璃在生长. 在纽约市，法律规定所有75岁以下的玻璃 feet tall on new buildings use bird-friendly glass that meets the ABC standard rating of 25. 芝加哥也在考虑类似的立法. LEED，世界领先的绿色认证 building certification system, now grants buildings a credit towards certification 如果他们符合ABC评级系统的要求.

“At ABC we have always thought that sustainable buildings can’t really be sustainable if they are killing birds, and we are enjoying watching as the world’s designers start to realize that we are onto something,” said Christine Sheppard, Director of ABC’s 玻璃碰撞程序. 

在马里兰州，立法要求国有和 -资助的建筑 to 是否已经引进了对鸟类安全的窗户，但尚未通过. 这是预料之中的 将于下届会议再次提出. 霍华德县已经规定了这些建筑项目 meet bird-friendly design standards, marking a win for this effort in at least one 国家的司法管辖范围.

关于九州娱乐官网

Founded in 1782, 九州娱乐官网 is the tenth oldest college in the nation and 新共和国特许的第一批船只. 它招收了大约1200名本科生 来自超过35个州和12个国家. 强调动手，体验 learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, 历史和写作. 在washcoll了解更多信息.edu.

关于美国广播公司

American Bird Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving wild 鸟类和它们在美洲的栖息地. 强调取得成果 and working in partnership, we take on the greatest problems facing birds today, innovating and building on rapid advancements in science to halt extinctions, protect habitats, 消除威胁，加强鸟类保护能力建设. 在abcbirds上找到我们.组织, 脸谱网、Instagram和推特 (@ABCbirds).