Birds are dying after hitting gleaming glass and mirror buildings in Hong Kong, group warns
- Nearly 200 incidents of birds flying into buildings and transparent noise barriers recorded in four-month period, with 90 per cent being fatal
- Hong Kong Bird Watching Society calls for government to take action while urging public to report incidents
Nearly 200 incidents of birds flying into buildings and transparent noise barriers have been recorded in Hong Kong in four months, a study has found, with most of the cases likely due to large glass or mirror facades used on the exterior of the structures and most of the animals dying from the collision.
In releasing the results of its findings on Monday, the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society called for rethinking how much of the reflective materials was used for buildings and urged residents to report any such collisions so a fuller picture of the phenomenon could be gained.
The society recorded 196 collisions involving birds, consisting of 38 species, between September and December last year. About 70 per cent of the birds involved were migratory, it noted.
“Some glass surfaces can reflect natural landscapes like trees, creating an illusion for birds,” conservation officer at the society Wong Suet-mei said.
