Nolan Painting Partners with Bird Safe Philly to Help Reduce Bird Collisions at Local Libraries
As more buildings incorporate large glass windows, bird collisions have become an increasingly urgent issue in urban environments. Joining other Philadelphia area organizations in bird conservation efforts, several local libraries have pursued the retrofitting of their windows with Feather Friendly Bird Collision Deterrent Markers.
Recently, Nolan Painting partnered with Bird Safe Philly in their effort to reduce bird collisions across the Philadelphia region by assisting with the installation of the Feather Friendly window product at Chestnut Hill Library, Elkins Park Free Library, Glenside Free Library, and Conshohocken Free Library. While community volunteers completed the lower windows, our team specialized in the higher and more difficult-to-access areas. Nolan Painting volunteered approximately 115 hours to install the Bird Deterrent Film at these libraries throughout the spring of 2026.
Why Bird Collisions Happen
Glass windows often reflect sky, trees, and open space, making them nearly invisible to birds. Without visual markers, birds can unintentionally fly into windows, resulting in injury or, more often, death. According to Bird Safe Philly, collision monitoring has not occurred in enough sections of Philadelphia to determine the total number of annual collisions, however existing data indicates that up to 1,000 birds collide with buildings in just a small 3-4 square block section of downtown Philadelphia each year.
Bird Safe Philly works to spread awareness of this issue and develop partnerships to help protect native and migratory birds. An example of their work in action is the Bird Safe Philly program Lights Out Philly, a collaborative effort led by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, Audubon Mid-Atlantic, Valley Forge Audubon Society and Liberty Bird Alliance. Lights Out Philly involves turning off and/or blocking as many eternal and internal building lights as possible at night during bird migration in spring and fall.
Feather Friendly Bird Deterrent Film
To mitigate the bird collision issue, windows can be retrofitted with Feather Friendly Bird Collision Deterrent Markers, an effective solution designed to make glass visible to birds without obstructing views for people.
Key benefits of Feather Friendly film include:
- Subtle, evenly spaced markers that birds can detect
- Minimal visual impact from inside the building
- Durable materials designed for long-term performance
- A newly developed adhesive that allows application in colder temperatures
Tackling Hard-to-Reach Windows Safely
Many of the windows at the libraries our team assisted with were positioned well above ground level, making them inaccessible to volunteers without specialized equipment, which is where Nolan Painting’s expertise came in.
Our team is highly experienced in:
- Safely accessing high and difficult-to-reach areas
- Working efficiently on commercial properties
- Planning for and executing detailed projects
The Installation Process
Our team learned a lot about the product and the best techniques for installation, but applying the product is relatively easy and accessible for people who do not work in the trades. Bird Safe Philly has a volunteer sign-up for those interested in helping with the mission. Our team followed the following process to apply the product:
- Window Cleaning & Prep
Each surface was carefully cleaned to ensure optimal adhesion. - Film Application
Feather Friendly product was aligned with the window and applied using tape. - Press and Peel
The product was folded in half horizontally, peeling and cutting the peel-away backing of the product and reapplying the remaining sticky half. Plastic hand scrapers were used to ensure the dots stuck before pulling the remaining sticky half. The same was performed for the bottom half.
A Collaborative Community Effort
Our team was made aware of the project by our customer and president of the Liberty Bird Alliance, Leigh Altadonna. The project sounded like a perfect fit for us to help with under our Nolan in the Neighborhood community engagement initiative. Having a positive impact in the communities where we live and work is important to us, and projects like this demonstrate how our team’s skillset can be used in meaningful ways beyond our day-to-day work
