FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Sydney Bucholtz, Communications & Visitor Experience Coordinator, Buffalo Audubon
Email: sydney@buffaloaudubon.org  |  Phone: (585) 457-3228  
Websites: www.buffaloaudubon.org (Buffalo Audubon)  |  www.birdfriendlybuffalo.com (Bird-Friendly Buffalo)

Buffalo Audubon champions bird-friendly windows through education, volunteerism & nature center enhancements

NORTH JAVA, NY:  Buffalo Audubon is leading an initiative to make windows in Western New York safer for birds—beginning right in its own backyard.

Made possible by a $8,525 Audubon in Action grant from National Audubon, the bird-focused non-profit organization has begun championing bird-safe building and window designs through three main components: 

  • By retrofitting its own windows to be more bird-safe
  • Engaging corporate volunteer groups in meaningful, educational projects
  • Providing ample educational resources to help visitors learn ways to promote a more bird-friendly region

These actions come amid Buffalo Audubon having launched the Bird-Friendly Buffalo initiative in May 2025, which seeks to support communities in cultivating bird-friendly programming and infrastructure that helps birds thrive, and help Buffalo achieve the official bird-friendly designation.

“Here’s the reality—and the opportunity,” says Ed Sirianno, Buffalo Audubon’s Executive Director.

  • “What we’re doing: Bird-Friendly Buffalo and Western New York is a movement to unite Western New Yorkers to create a safer spring-and-fall migratory corridor through bird-safe glass, proven retrofits, and smarter lighting—starting here at Buffalo Audubon.”
  • The problem: Window collisions are one of the most preventable threats birds face; glass is often an invisible hazard.
  • Why we should care: BirdCast radar science shows migration at a national scale in the billions each season—and Western New York sits in the Atlantic Flyway, a globally important corridor within that movement.”

In an effort to begin these crucial improvements close to home, Buffalo Audubon began installing retrofitted window components in spring 2025—engaging new volunteer groups in the process to educate about bird-friendly window design and installation through example. Such corporate groups included Moog, National Fuel, NYSEG, and Five Star Bank—volunteers of which cleaned, scraped, and installed new treatments to the windows of Buffalo Audubon’s Trillium Nature Center headquarters.

Buffalo Audubon also developed new ways to educate visitors about simple actions that help birds through digital interactive kiosks, signage, pamphlets, and televisions that highlight relevant data and tips. 

To learn more about Buffalo Audubon and its sponsored initiative, Bird-Friendly Buffalo, visit the associated websites at www.buffaloaudubon.org and  www.birdfriendlybuffalo.com.