About Us

History & Mission

Bird Friendly Cornell was formed in 2022 to help address fatal collisions and life-altering injuries to hawks that had fledged from Cornell’s Red-tailed Hawk Cam. Since then, a dedicated group of staff, students, and volunteers has worked to make Cornell’s campus a safer place for all birds to fly.

Our initiative aims to make Cornell’s campus a safer place for birds by organizing building retrofits, advocating for new construction to be bird safe, and educating Cornell’s community about ways to prevent collisions.

Meet The Team

Cady Netland

Cady is responsible for coordinating and developing diverse-audience educational resources, partnerships, and targeted outreach campaigns regarding human-caused threats to birds and their solutions, including (but not limited to) bird-glass collisions and light pollution. With a deep love and appreciation for both people and wildlife, Cady strives to spread the message that bird-friendly practices in public and private spheres benefit us all.

Miyoko Chu

Miyoko Chu is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Senior Director of Science Communications. She collaborates with the Cornell Lab’s staff, partners, and supporters to raise awareness of the Lab’s mission and to grow the communities who join us to learn about birds and nature, advance science, and protect the natural world.

Tara Sandhu Pollock

Tara Sandhu Pollock is the Bird Friendly Student Leader with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She is also a Cornell ’27 student studying Environment & Sustainability, with a concentration in evolutionary biology and applied ecology.

Christine Sheppard

Christine Sheppard has been director of American Bird Conservancy’s Glass Collisions Program since its inception in 2009. She has led instrumental bird collision mitigation efforts, including testing of materials, the publication Bird-friendly Building Design, LEED Pilot Credit 55: Bird Collision Deterrence, and consulting on related legislation throughout the US.

Kaitlyn Parkins

Kaitlyn Parkins is the Glass Collisions Program coordinator at American Bird Conservancy, where she works to reduce collision mortality through research, education, and policy solutions. Prior to joining ABC, Kaitlyn managed the Project Safe Flight collision monitoring program at NYC Bird Alliance and was part of the team that worked to pass NYC’s landmark bird-friendly buildings ordinance.