Stadium update

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Purple bruise
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Stadium update

Post by Purple bruise »

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chicagopurple
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Re: Stadium update

Post by chicagopurple »

its CRAZY how fast they can build this !
Its SURREAL to think that AP will likely never play for us in this new stadium....sad how it is turning out.
its IMPRESSIVE that they plan on working all through the Minnesota winter....jeeesh !
The Breeze
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Re: Stadium update

Post by The Breeze »

Estimates for bird-proof glass flies too high


http://min.scout.com/story/1503043-esti ... s-too-high

We have reached levels of technology that, if given 18 months to solve a problem, we find a way. We brought Apollo 13 back with as much prayer as expertise. Whether birds stack up like cordwood at the ground level at the new stadium actually materializes is speculation. One way or the other, we’re going to find out – for better or worse.

I can't believe no one can come up with a cheap way to bird-proof windows. Whoever does will get rich.
: As many as 988 million birds die annually in window collisions. Between 365 and 988 million birds die from crashing into windows in the United States each year, according to a new report. That may be as much as 10 percent of the estimated total bird population of the country.Feb 3, 2014
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=nu ... by+windows



As for the Vikes new stadium: why can't they hang a retractable purple mesh screen from the roof to the ground for the majority of the time when the stadium is not in use? That would leave the windows safe for birds the majority of the time and it would still look cool when you drive by.

If anyone thinks this is a good idea feel free to send it on up the pipeline.
yezzir
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Re: Stadium update

Post by yezzir »

The Breeze wrote:Estimates for bird-proof glass flies too high


http://min.scout.com/story/1503043-esti ... s-too-high


I can't believe no one can come up with a cheap way to bird-proof windows. Whoever does will get rich.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=nu ... by+windows



As for the Vikes new stadium: why can't they hang a retractable purple mesh screen from the roof to the ground for the majority of the time when the stadium is not in use? That would leave the windows safe for birds the majority of the time and it would still look cool when you drive by.

If anyone thinks this is a good idea feel free to send it on up the pipeline.
That's a great idea. And that's prolly why they won't do it. :wink:
PurpleMustReign
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Re: Stadium update

Post by PurpleMustReign »

I don't think the birds will be as big of a problem that people think they will... We will see.
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The Breeze
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Re: Stadium update

Post by The Breeze »

PurpleMustReign wrote:I don't think the birds will be as big of a problem that people think they will... We will see.
I haven't seen any speculation that there will be a problem so much as there is a desire for a consciously inclusive structure. So, the number of birds killed or not killed isn't important as is the effort to seek a finished product that adheres to some sort of natural order.

Personally, I would applaud that kind of thinking and would suggest that it would be a good idea to have nature and the elements on our side when doing battle.

But I also think there should be runes etched in at various places on the stadium for magik, cause I'm just crazy that way. :wink:
J. Kapp 11
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Re: Stadium update

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

I wonder how many birds die flying into non-glass structures, like bridges, wind turbines and water towers.

It's a serious question. I mean, are we really to believe that birds have some strange magnetism to glass? Or is it more that something tall is sticking up into their airspace?

According to a professor at Oklahoma State, most collision-based bird deaths come as a result of repeated occasional collisions with small buildings, not from splatting into skyscrapers. "Death by a thousand nicks," he says. The fact that skyscrapers have glass doesn't mean the glass is causing their demise.

And ... buildings aren't even the leading killer of birds. Cats are. Maybe we should outlaw all cats that aren't bird-proof.
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Re: Stadium update

Post by The Breeze »

J. Kapp 11 wrote:I wonder how many birds die flying into non-glass structures, like bridges, wind turbines and water towers.

It's a serious question. I mean, are we really to believe that birds have some strange magnetism to glass? Or is it more that something tall is sticking up into their airspace?

According to a professor at Oklahoma State, most collision-based bird deaths come as a result of repeated occasional collisions with small buildings, not from splatting into skyscrapers. "Death by a thousand nicks," he says. The fact that skyscrapers have glass doesn't mean the glass is causing their demise.

And ... buildings aren't even the leading killer of birds. Cats are. Maybe we should outlaw all cats that aren't bird-proof.
I read a few articles on this as it piqued my interest.

This Sibly site has some pretty detailed info:

http://www.sibleyguides.com/conservatio ... mortality/

The turbine collisions effect larger birds (raptors) and far fewer numbers, but their population is smaller so the effect is similar.

As far as glass: birds can't see it, and when there is some greenery behind the glass they often fly right into it and die immediately. But the greenery isn't necessary cause the birds see the space behind the glass not the glass itself. I have a Red Shafted Flicker a freezer that flew into the front window of a house I was staying at this summer.

I've never lived in the city amongst big buildings ....but I would assume that more birds die in rural areas in collisions with glass than in big cities, just because I'd guess there is more birds out in the country.
I never heard of birds flying into solid structures that they can actually see. I'll try and find what the guy at OK State is talking about

Everything I read said cats are second to structural glass. But it's nuts to me that well over a billion birds in the US are killed by glass and cats. I'd imagine the stadium site wouldn't be an area where massive numbers of birds are affected, I just think the whole issue is being brought up because Audubon and conservationists would like to see the trend reversed if it can be helped.
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Re: Stadium update

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

The Breeze wrote: I read a few articles on this as it piqued my interest.

This Sibly site has some pretty detailed info:

http://www.sibleyguides.com/conservatio ... mortality/

The turbine collisions effect larger birds (raptors) and far fewer numbers, but their population is smaller so the effect is similar.

As far as glass: birds can't see it, and when there is some greenery behind the glass they often fly right into it and die immediately. But the greenery isn't necessary cause the birds see the space behind the glass not the glass itself. I have a Red Shafted Flicker a freezer that flew into the front window of a house I was staying at this summer.

I've never lived in the city amongst big buildings ....but I would assume that more birds die in rural areas in collisions with glass than in big cities, just because I'd guess there is more birds out in the country.
I never heard of birds flying into solid structures that they can actually see. I'll try and find what the guy at OK State is talking about

Everything I read said cats are second to structural glass. But it's nuts to me that well over a billion birds in the US are killed by glass and cats. I'd imagine the stadium site wouldn't be an area where massive numbers of birds are affected, I just think the whole issue is being brought up because Audubon and conservationists would like to see the trend reversed if it can be helped.
If every article you've read says cats are second to structural glass, then I would challenge every one of those articles.

According to a recent 3-year study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cats kill about 3.7 billion birds per year in the continental U.S. Each year. That's four times as many as collisions with buildings. Cats kill 20 billion mammals of all kinds annually. The study was released one year ago, so it's relevant.

And that 900+ million deaths due to collisions, those are collisions with all structures, not just glass. As for your comment that birds can't see glass, of course they can't. Neither can you. The difference is that you understand context. If you come near a building, you know it has glass. Birds don't. But they can see the buildings ... and they DO hit those buildings.

True conservationists would not support this bird-brained glass idea. I used to work for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the people I know, true experts in wildlife, understand that in a world where both humans and animals exist, it is impossible to make sure every animal is unaffected by humanity. Birds die due to interaction with human things. They just do. The only way to do away with it is to do away with humanity.

My guess is this effort is being led by the same people who claim it's inhumane to slaughter cattle or hunt deer. And if they prevail in adding $60 million to the tab, then the taxpayers of Minnesota have every right to be very angry.
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The Breeze
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Re: Stadium update

Post by The Breeze »

J. Kapp 11 wrote:

If every article you've read says cats are second to structural glass, then I would challenge every one of those articles.

According to a recent 3-year study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cats kill about 3.7 billion birds per year in the continental U.S. Each year. That's four times as many as collisions with buildings. Cats kill 20 billion mammals of all kinds annually. The study was released one year ago, so it's relevant.

And that 900+ million deaths due to collisions, those are collisions with all structures, not just glass. As for your comment that birds can't see glass, of course they can't. Neither can you. The difference is that you understand context. If you come near a building, you know it has glass. Birds don't. But they can see the buildings ... and they DO hit those buildings.

True conservationists would not support this bird-brained glass idea. I used to work for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the people I know, true experts in wildlife, understand that in a world where both humans and animals exist, it is impossible to make sure every animal is unaffected by humanity. Birds die due to interaction with human things. They just do. The only way to do away with it is to do away with humanity.

My guess is this effort is being led by the same people who claim it's inhumane to slaughter cattle or hunt deer. And if they prevail in adding $60 million to the tab, then the taxpayers of Minnesota have every right to be very angry.
Share with me some links please.

I first got interested in this subject after reading the book: The World Without Us....which, as you may know, is a fascinating research on what would happen on the planet if humanity just disappeared tomorrow.

That is a staggering number just for the continental US: 4.5 billion birds annually due to cats and glass on a continent where neither existed until europeans showed up. From what I can find on what you've stated...the whole point of the study was done due to the alarm over the significant increase in reduction of bird population in the first place.
A National Audubon Society report called "Common Birds in Decline," for instance, shows that some widespread species generally thought to be secure have decreased in number as much as 80 percent since 1967, and the 19 others in the report have lost half their populations. The figures reflect an array of threats faced by birds throughout North America.


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... ed-states/this is good article on the subject....and it's supports the housecat study you mentioned.

My point isn't to argue which human factor kills more birds but to say there should be more consideration being given by the general population to the fact that we are unconsciously wiping out birds(and other species) at an alarming rate.

I certainly don't think that $60 million for one structure is any kind of solution, that's just stupid....but saying that's the end of the debate is equally ignorant and if more people were giving a damn then simpler solutions would be found.

The link I provided to the Sibly site has links to info on how people can make their homes windows more bird friendly and the screen idea I mentioned for the stadium is a valid one and would be very very inexpensive.

But what I see generally is that people don't understand the value of things until they are gone.

I wouldn't have any problem with a nationwide campaign to eradicate feral cats and I like cats. If our presence means other species are reduced I would like to see it be a conscious action with the whole environment included not just what's easiest for humans. That's poor stewardship IMO and it will ultimately come back to haunt us....maybe in some horrible disease carried by mosquitoes, for example. If that were ever the case, I'd take a few billion more birds over any number of unwanted cats....
DK Sweets
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Re: Stadium update

Post by DK Sweets »

We're less than a month into the offseason and our conversations would make even Allen Iverson want to talk about practice.
The Breeze
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Re: Stadium update

Post by The Breeze »

DKSweets wrote:We're less than a month into the offseason and our conversations would make even Allen Iverson want to talk about practice.
:rofl:

what you don't like birds?!
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Re: Stadium update

Post by nightowl »

The solution to all of Our Bird Problems!

Image

50 of these bad boys scattered around the Stadium and there wont be a bird within miles of the place. And check it out, Free shipping on orders of $45! :banana2:
DK Sweets
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Re: Stadium update

Post by DK Sweets »

nightowl wrote:The solution to all of Our Bird Problems!

Image

50 of these bad boys scattered around the Stadium and there wont be a bird within miles of the place. And check it out, Free shipping on orders of $45! :banana2:
Of course nightowl would post that! Haha
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Re: Stadium update

Post by nightowl »

DKSweets wrote:Of course nightowl would post that! Haha
:lol: I honestly didn't even think of my screen name when I was posting that. :v):


If that doesn't work for ya, they also have these creepy things
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