Zurich Canton Council wants to protect birds from window deaths

The Canton Council now wants these surfaces to be designed in a way that birds can recognise them.

The Parliamentary Initiative calls for an additional paragraph in the Planning and Building Act obliging building owners to use bird-safe surfaces.

Every year, three million birds die in Switzerland from flying into window panes and mirrored facades. On 26 April 2021, the Canton Council supported a motion demanding that these surfaces be designed in a way that birds can recognise them.

In recent years, the problem has worsened further, partly due to new building materials and the increasing use of glass in the construction of noise barriers. Legislative remedies are therefore urgently needed.

Unlike humans, birds cannot perceive transparent surfaces — only what lies behind them. When approaching balcony glazing, conservatories, freestanding glass panels, or corner glazing, they see only the plants behind the glass and then collide with surfaces that are invisible to them. This is usually fatal for the birds. Equally hazardous situations arise when trees or shrubs are reflected in facades or glass surfaces: birds fly toward the reflection and instead collide with the mirrored surfaces.

Design considerations also play a role in the protection of birds. Simple design measures can already ensure that buildings and structures no longer pose a danger to them. The new regulation is intended to apply to new buildings, as well as when a building is renovated or remodeled with changes to the facade. Taking the needs of birds into account is proportionate and justifiable in these circumstances. The details are not to be regulated in the law itself, but in a cantonal government ordinance.

This also makes it possible to take into account guidelines (e.g. recommendations from the Office for Spatial Development ARE) that continuously incorporate new findings. At http://www.vogelglas.info the latest scientific findings on the topic of “Birds and Glass” are already available today, and methods are presented for defusing problematic situations. Numerous glass manufacturers have already responded to the issue and carry products in their range that are safe for birds. The
enforcement of the proposed regulation is therefore straightforward and will have a significant impact.

The parliamentary initiative (PI) put forward by the SP, Greens, GLP, and AL received 90 votes and was thus provisionally approved. 60 votes would have been required. The motion now goes to the relevant committee and will then return to the cantonal council.

Consideration for birds is proportionate and justifiable, said the left-green parties. There are already many glass manufacturers that have responded to the problem and added products to their range that can be recognized by birds.

The SVP considered the initiative unnecessary. While it may sound appealing, it would only create more bureaucracy.