Birds vs. Benton County
The Case Of The Dangerous Windows
It’s a slow news week. Sometimes that’s a good thing. So whether or not this is a reflection worth discussing… well, that’s up to you to decide.
Construction has been moving along on Benton County’s new courthouse along Highway 20, just north of downtown. Now a question has flown into public debate: What about the birds? No, they don’t need a courthouse. Most aren’t criminals and generally obey the laws of nature. Although I do have a woodpecker in my yard that I would happily send to jail.
Specifically, what happens when hundreds of square feet of shiny new courthouse windows face one of the prettiest river corridors in the valley? To us, those windows promise beautiful views, natural light, and a distraction while waiting for jury duty or maybe even one last glance at freedom?
To a bird, they may simply look like... well… more sky.
(Photo Credit: The Corvallis Inquirer)
Unfortunately, birds don’t read architectural plans. And unlike humans, they don’t usually appreciate floor-to-ceiling windows until it’s a little too late.
We’ve all heard it before, that unmistakable “thunk.” The kind that instantly makes you look at the window. My cat heard the thunk once, and promptly picked up a crow off the ground, larger than herself… and brought it to the door, passing it off like it’s own trophy that it meticulously stalked, pounced, fought, and brought home for family dinner.
Window collisions are one of the largest human-caused threats to birds in North America. Yes, we just mentioned the other one. Conservation organizations estimate that hundreds of millions to as many as one billion birds die each year in the United States after striking glass. Birds often mistake reflections of trees, rivers, clouds, or open sky for actual habitat and simply keep flying.
Research has found that low-rise buildings with large windows, like the new courthouse, account for a surprisingly large share of bird collisions. A courthouse doesn’t have to be 40 stories tall to become an obstacle if it’s surrounded by trees, water, and open flight paths.
The new Benton County Courthouse is taking shape fast. Scheduled to open in spring 2027, it will replace Oregon’s oldest operating courthouse and feature modern courtrooms, improved accessibility, and a new Emergency Operations Center.
It also sits near the Willamette River, an area frequented by songbirds, waterfowl, raptors, and migratory species throughout the year. Bald Eagles even. That combination has prompted some people to wonder whether the building’s reflective glass could unintentionally become a hazard.
Did we message Benton County for comment? No. Should we? Probably not. Odds are… they have better things to do.
To be clear, there is no evidence at this point that the courthouse has caused bird collisions. The building is still under construction. But it's a fair question. And like we said, it's a slow news week, locally speaking.
Some communities have started to pay more attention to bird-friendly architecture. The Oregon Zoo Education Center in Portland, for example, uses bird-friendly etched (fritted) glass with a subtle pattern that birds can see but that doesn't affect human views.
Other solutions outside of patterned or fritted glass include ultraviolet coatings that birds can see (but people barely notice), decorative films, or exterior screens that break up reflections. Many of these treatments have been shown to dramatically reduce bird strikes without changing the building’s overall appearance.
In other words, it’s possible to have a courthouse with great views and fewer unintended avian traffic accidents.
Benton County has spent years planning a courthouse designed to serve the community for generations. It's already looking pretty grand, even without the landscaping. Is a relatively small adjustment worth the effort to help protect local wildlife? We should probably wait and see.
Because if the crows get organized, they'll have probable caws.
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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The potential for fatal collisions of birds with the new Benton County Courthouse was fully considered and accounted for by the architects, engineers, and site planners for the project. As any passerby has noted, the building's "footprint" is not square with either Highway 20 or the Willamette River, but is on an oblique angle approximating 45 degrees to those landmarks. As a result, rapidly approaching birds will not strike the window glass with a head-on dead stop, but will hit with a glancing blow only, and will usually be able to continue flying after a brief moment of disorientation. This well-documented phenomenon (known as the "Croney Effect") usually results in a reduction in mortality due to bird-building collisions from 80-90% down to the range of 30-40%.
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