Every year, numerous birds crash against the glass panes of the capital’s BER airport and die – in an open letter to the operators, environmental organizations have now called for more protective measures for the animals. “Since the opening of BER Airport, we have received continuous reports and photos of dead and injured birds that collided on the glass surfaces of the buildings and died,” says the letter that the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND), the Nature Conservation Union (Nabu), the Animal Welfare Association for Berlin and the State Animal Welfare Association of Brandenburg published on Tuesday.
Numerous species are affected, such as the kingfisher, kestrel, woodcock, crested lark, song thrush and tawny owl. According to the associations, birds do not recognize transparent glass as an obstacle and cannot recognize reflections in their surroundings as such. They are also attracted to illuminated buildings at night. The problem has been known to the airport company since 2012. “Nevertheless, during the 14-year construction period of BER, no measures were taken to remedy the situation,” write the associations.
For example, there were no shielding devices to reduce nocturnal light emissions. “If the problem had been taken into account at an early stage in the construction planning, bird collisions at BER could have been largely avoided.” Retrofitting is now much more complex and expensive.
Upon request, BER stated that it would regularly check Terminal 1 (T1) and its glass surfaces for bird impacts. 50 dead birds were found in the year after commissioning. In the current year there have been 40 dead animals so far. The free-standing glass surfaces, especially on the left and right of the T1, have therefore been covered with a special film. The operators are also in coordination with the responsible authorities.