Minimizing bird threats in our Hoosier cities and towns

Lights from atop multi-story buildings are fatal attractions to birds as they migrate at night, and reflective glass creates false impressions that prove fatal to flying birds. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service estimates at least 100 million and up to 1 billion birds die annually due to building collisions. Indiana Audubon provides these recommendations for both city planners and backyard bird enthusiasts to address these challenges.

Birds moving through Indiana face a mix of challenges in cities and towns. Artificial light, reflective glass, and habitat squeezed into dense spaces create risks for migrants and resident birds. This page outlines practical ways planners, businesses, and homeowners can make urban places safer for birds. For even more specific information about reducing light pollution during migration, visit our full Lights Out Indiana page.

Lighting

Outdoor lighting is one of the biggest factors in nighttime collisions. Outdoor lighting is one of the biggest factors in nighttime bird collisions. For migration timing and practical ways to reduce light pollution at homes and businesses, visit our Lights Out, Indiana page.

You can also visit BirdCast’s Lights Out webpage to learn more about the dangers of light pollution to migrating birds, which can cause disorientation, collisions, and death. By taking a simple pledge to turn off non-essential lights during critical migration periods, individuals can help reduce bird fatalities and support a safer, more energy-efficient environment.

Glass and Structures

Glass is the leading cause of building collisions, and reflections can mislead birds at any height or time of day. When planning or retrofitting buildings, consider these steps:

• Create visual patterns on glass so birds recognize it as a barrier. This can include decals, tape, netting, or bird-safe glass treatments.
• Space bird feeders either within three feet of windows or more than 30 feet away to reduce collision risk.
• Avoid using glass in supplemental structures (guardrails, walkways, etc…).
• If you have indoor plants or shrubs, space them away from the window when possible.
• Avoid creating an effect where landscaping funnels birds towards glass panes (e.g., walkways, passageways, edges) or where approaches to a building (vehicles or people) flush birds towards windows.
• Consider applying UV reflecting patterns that only the birds can see.
• Promote laws and regulations for bird-safe structures in your city or town.

Learn how you can help prevent the estimated 1 billion bird deaths from glass collisions each year by visiting the American Bird Conservancy’s Glass Collisions webpage.

Cats and Bird Safety

Outdoor cats, whether owned or feral, are responsible for an estimated 2.4 billion bird deaths each year in the United States, making them the number one human-related cause of bird mortality nationwide. This occurs across cities, suburbs, and rural communities wherever free-roaming cats overlap with bird habitats.

While these losses are significant, cats are not villains—they are simply following natural hunting instincts that conflict with modern urban ecosystems. By recognizing the scale of this challenge, communities and pet owners alike can take practical steps that protect birds while also improving the safety and well-being of cats.

Simple actions by pet owners and communities can dramatically reduce the number of birds killed by cats:

• Keep cats indoors. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives and avoid threats such as vehicles, predators, and disease.
• Avoid feeding or maintaining feral cat colonies, which can increase predation pressure on birds and other wildlife.
• Report stray or feral cats to local animal shelters, humane societies, or animal control for safe trapping and rehoming.
• Encourage neighbors to keep cats contained through community pledges or neighborhood guidelines.
• Place bird feeders and baths safely away from cover, ideally 10-12 feet from dense shrubs or fences, and use baffles, cages, or metal poles to prevent cats and other predators from reaching feeding birds.
• Educate others about keeping even one cat indoors can save hundreds of birds over the cat’s lifetime.
• Plant dense native shrubs or thorny hedges around nesting or feeding areas to make it harder for cats to approach birds unnoticed.

Indoor Enrichment and Catios

Creating safer environments for birds begins inside our own homes. Many cats are allowed to roam outdoors simply because they lack the stimulation and enrichment they need indoors. By transforming living spaces with climbing shelves, perches, scratching posts, and interactive play, cat owners can satisfy their pets’ natural instincts to explore and hunt without putting wildlife at risk.

For those wanting to offer fresh air and sunshine, a catio provides the perfect solution, giving cats the sights, sounds, and scents of nature while ensuring local birds remain safe. Whether through DIY catio kits, prefabricated models, or fully custom-built catios, there are options for every home and budget. Thoughtful indoor enrichment not only improves a cat’s health and happiness but also supports a healthier balance between our pets and the wild birds that share our communities.

Bird-Friendly Landscaping

Good landscape design helps birds navigate urban spaces safely. Native shrubs, small trees, and layered plantings provide birds with cover, nesting, and safe feeding areas.

Tips for safer yards and public spaces:

• Choose native plants that provide food and structure.
• Avoid long corridors of vegetation that direct birds toward glass.
• Keep dense shrubs a little away from large windows unless the glass is treated.
• Use prickly or dense plantings to deter cats near nests and feeders.
• Reduce pesticide use to keep insect prey available.

Back Your Local Birds

Modeled after the “Tree City USA” program and the highly successful Bird City Wisconsin, Indiana Audubon Society is pleased to support Bird Town Indiana, part of the Bird City Network. If your community meets certain criteria, it can apply for Bird Town Indiana recognition. Indiana Bird Towns are those that both the public officials and citizens demonstrate an active and ongoing commitment to the protection and conservation of bird populations and their habitats.

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Resources

• Bird Collisions: abcbirds.org/program/glass-collisions
• Lights Out Information: audubon.org/news/lights-out-turn-birds
• Bird Safe Indy: amosbutleraudubon.org/conservation/bird-safe-indy/
• Catio Design Ideas: https://www.thecattopia.com/catio-gallery/
• Indiana Native Plant Finder: https://indianawildlife.org/education/native-plants/