AUSTIN — Travis Audubon is urging Austin to adopt a bird-friendly building ordinance as conservation advocates seek stronger measures to prevent birds from colliding with glass buildings and dying.
The group wants Austin to become the first major Texas city to require bird-safe building standards. The effort follows a 2024 Austin City Council directive that asked city staff to explore changes to building regulations.
City staff reviewed policies from other cities, consulted bird conservation groups and gathered public input throughout 2025. The process has since stalled as city officials seek more evidence that Austin needs an ordinance, according to Travis Audubon Program Manager Caley Zuzula.
Travis Audubon plans to gather 1,000 signatures from Austin residents by the end of the year to demonstrate public support for the proposal.
An estimated 1 billion birds die from building collisions in the United States each year. Birds can mistake reflections of trees and sky in glass for open space, while artificial nighttime lighting can attract and disorient migrating birds.
Texas sees an estimated 1 billion to 2 billion birds during spring and fall migrations, and more than 400 bird species can occur in Austin.
Travis Audubon does not have a comprehensive estimate of bird deaths from building collisions in Austin. Zuzula said the city has not experienced a major mass collision but has buildings with reflective glass and unnecessary nighttime lighting that can put birds at risk.
Nearly 400 migratory birds from more than 20 species died in 2017 after striking a brightly lit skyscraper in Galveston in one night. The incident helped spur the statewide Lights Out, Texas! initiative.
Austin adopted its own Lights Out resolution in 2021, but Zuzula said the measure does not cover all buildings and residences.
City staff has recommended requiring new commercial and multifamily buildings larger than 10,000 square feet to meet bird-safe standards on surfaces up to 100 feet high. Proposed measures include patterned or treated glass, screens, exterior shading and reduced nighttime lighting.
Travis Audubon is also collecting local data through its Austin Bird Building Collisions project on iNaturalist. The project has recorded at least 40 collision reports in Austin this year, including incidents near glass buildings at the University of Texas and downtown.
The group is asking residents to report bird collisions and sign its petition supporting the proposed ordinance.
