PRINCETON BETTER FOR BIRDS PROJECT
The Stoddard Lab launched the Princeton Better for Birds Project in 2022. Our goal is to help make Princeton’s campus and the surrounding community a friendly and sustainable place for birds. By supporting outreach, education and advocacy activities aimed at bird conservation, we hope to foster an even greater appreciation for avian biodiversity at Princeton and beyond. In particular, we wish to unite perspectives from science, architecture, art and design to provide solutions to the most challenging problems faced by birds—and to make bird-related activities more accessible to everyone. We are partnering with the Princeton Birding Society, the Princeton Council on Science and Technology (CST) and the Princeton Office of Sustainability to achieve these aims.
Why it matters: Princeton’s campus (including nearby Lake Carnegie and the Institute Woods) is home to more than 200 bird species, many of which pass through Princeton during the spring and fall migrations. Unfortunately, many of these birds are in peril. A recent study showed that North American bird populations have declined by almost 30% in the last 50 years. Two of the top threats to birds are collisions with glass buildings and widespread habitat destruction.
Read more about our ongoing initiatives below.
© Matt Cole/Princeton Alumni Weekly Magazine
MONITORING BUILDINGS FOR
BIRD COLLISIONS
Together with the Princeton Birding Society, the CST and the Office of Sustainability, we are monitoring campus buildings in an effort to quantify bird collisions with glass windows. These data—collected primarily during the spring and fall migration periods—are guiding discussions on campus about which buildings are the most problematic and could be treated with bird-friendly film, like the dotted film applied in 2022 to the Prospect House dining room (shown in the photo at left).
ADVOCATING FOR BIRD-FRIENDLY GLASS
We are collaborating with the Princeton Birding Society, the Office of Sustainability, Princeton University Facilities, and the Office of Capital Projects to develop updated guidelines that will encourage the use of bird-friendly glass in future Princeton buildings. With the CST, we are sponsoring a campus-wide contest in Fall/Winter 2023 in which students can create their own bird-friendly decals for glass windows in one of Princeton’s new residential colleges. These efforts will help protect migrating birds, like the Blackburnian Warbler shown at right.
© Kojo Baidoo
Designed by Laz Lazarova
BirDiversity ART EXHIBITION:
NOVEMBER 2023
The inaugural BirDiversity Art Exhibition, held in November 2023, was a celebration of visual art, science and ornithology in the Princeton University community. The exhibition aimed to highlight the creative work of artists and scientists of all experience levels, thus generating discussion about birds in our rapidly-changing world. Above all, BirDiversity intended to shine a light on the beautiful, mysterious, and diverse birds with which we share our planet. The exhibition opened November 11, 2023, in the Lewis Center for the Arts. Click here to learn more and to access a virtual version of the exhibit.
PLANTING A POLLINATOR GARDEN AT STONY FORD RESEARCH STATION
We are working with the CST to design and plant a pollinator garden, rich with native plants that will attract avian and insect pollinators, at Princeton’s Stony Ford Research Station. The research station is just a few miles from campus and features fields, woodlands and a small stream. Planning the garden began in Spring 2023, and planting will begin in late Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. We recently met with the Director of Campus Grounds (see photo at right) to discuss pollinator-friendly meadows.
