Let’s Talk About U.S. Bank Stadium and Birds

(Hat tip to Josh VanKlompenberg for bringing this story to my attention on the Twitters.)

If you’ll recall the debates leading up to the opening of U.S. Bank Stadium. . .and I can’t blame you if you don’t recall them or refuse to. . .there was a lot of talk about how the stadium’s glass exterior would affect birds in the area around the stadium. Specifically, how many of our fine feathered friends would fly into it and, potentially, meet their demise.

Well, according to a story in The Daily Globe, the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis says that between August and November of last year, approximately 60 birds were killed as a result of flying into the stadium glass, and another 14 birds appeared “dazed.”

Now, not being hugely into nature myself, I’m not sure if this is a high number or a low number. It certainly seems to be lower than what the panic leading up to the opening of the stadium would have led us to believe it would be.

The article from The Daily Globe does suggest some ways that homeowners can, potentially, make the glass in their own homes more bird-friendly, but given that U.S. Bank Stadium has approximately 200,000 square feet of glass, I’m not sure how practical any of those things would be in their case. . .though the thought of U.S. Bank Stadium being completely covered with cardboard on the outside is both hilarious and depressing at the same time.

But, for those of you that were wondering about just how bad it was for birds in the first full season of play at U.S. Bank Stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, it appears that we have an official number.