This is bird note.

Occasionally when birds are migrating,

grim headlines announce that hundreds of birds have crashed into the same glassy building all in one night.

While devastating, these events highlight a problem that's much bigger than any one skyscraper.

When birds like this veery fly through populated areas at night,

buildings with lights on can cause them to become disoriented.

And birds don't see clear glass windows as an obstacle.

Instead, they often see the reflection of trees and shrubs and think they're flying to safety.

Every year, up to a billion birds die when they collide with buildings, including many low-rise buildings and houses.

Fortunately, there's a lot that can be done to prevent birds from striking windows,

turning off lights at night and applying special

stickers to windows helps birds see them as an obstacle. Designing new

buildings with bird safety in mind and making improvements to existing buildings buildings,

also makes a difference.

Every step taken towards addressing this problem,

can save birds lives.

Bird Note is on a mission to inspire a million people to take action to help birds over the next three years. To learn what you can do,

visit bird note.org. I'm Michael Stein. You're going to be.