On February 1, The Stute had the opportunity to interview Hoboken resident Jeffrey Train. Train wears multiple hats as a teacher, father, and avid birder; It’s a passion he shares with his 13-year-old son, Otys Train. Train shared, “We think of birds as our neighbors in Hoboken, and that’s kind of what I teach to everybody.” He continued, “The house sparrow that’s just outside your window is also making a nest in your building and raising their young and feeding their young (Train paused to gesture towards his five-month-old daughter) and making a living off of [sic] the nature that’s around our city.”
When Train refers to teaching, he speaks of his birding walks, called Mr Train’s Life Lessons for Better Birding and Beyond, a program he describes as a mix of birding and positive psychology. These walks about Hoboken welcome people of all ages. Train guides the group through topics like nature mindfulness, gratitude, and kindness while pointing out our neighborly feathered friends. One of the many stops he makes on his Better Birding and Beyond walks, as well as personal ones, is the Stevens campus.
Train’s encounters with avian biodiversity in Hoboken are remarkable, with documented sightings of 93 unique species. However, this abundance is overshadowed by a troubling statistic: 35 of these species have been found dead on Stevens campus grounds, victims of fatal window strikes. The prevalence of glass structures—from Babbio Atrium to the Morton to Peirce sky-bridge, Pierce Dining Hall, and the newly constructed UCC complex—poses a significant threat to bird safety.
The danger lies in the reflective nature of glass, which deceives birds into perceiving it as an extension of their natural habitat. Mistaking transparent barriers for open space, birds collide with windows, often with fatal consequences. Train’s observations underscore the urgent need for bird-friendly building practices to mitigate such risks and preserve urban avian populations.
Train reports he has made multiple appeals to Stevens administration concerning the issue, and has presented proposals, including quote estimates for applying products such as Bird Divert dots or other cheaper decal alternatives. Train reports he has been met with little urgency, and calls have been left unreturned. He posits that something as simple as an approximately $200 red sticker decal that says “Stevens” or “Go Ducks” would be enough to make the invisible glass boundary visible to our aviary friends. High-caliber universities such as Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale have all made recent adjustments to infrastructure for the same cause. An innovation university that advertises LEED Platinum certifications, and especially one with an avian as a mascot, should feel compelled to follow suit.
The discussion surrounding how Stevens’ infrastructure interfaces with the Hoboken ecosystem has become increasingly pertinent following the recent completion of the UCC Complex. With the possibility of further changes to the Stevens skyline looming large, highlighted by the November 2023 geotechnical boring of Davis Hall, the impact on the local environment warrants careful consideration. Demanding appropriate facility changes, such as the application of solutions like Bird Divert to the windows of existing buildings and mandating the use of bird-visible glass in future construction, holds the potential to make a large impact. Birds are tetrachromatic, meaning that they see color through four distinct classes of photoreceptors. Humans, on the other hand, only have three. This relationship can be likened to how humans view a dog’s vision. Dogs only have two photoreceptors and see the world in blue and yellow, while we possess three: red, green, and blue. The extra class of photoreceptors that birds maintain over us means that they can see into the UV range while we cannot. Glass decals that reflect wavelengths imperceptible to us create a visual boundary for birds, warning them of the glass’ presence. Such technology and commercial solutions already exist. Train asserts that there are many complex challenges in life but that this is not one of them. There is a clear solution available. Bird Divert would minimally detract from our Hoboken views but do leagues for the preservation of aviary biodiversity.
Train described a poignantly moving phenomenon called aviary passage fidelity, which refers to the tendency of certain bird species to return to specific locations along their migratory routes across generations. It’s akin to a family tradition passed down from one generation of birds to the next. Birds, guided by instinct and learned behavior, faithfully revisit the same stopover sites year after year for reasons deeply ingrained in their genetic heritage. There are distinct family lines of sparrows and warblers and 93 other species that call Hoboken home, whose ancestors have made Hoboken a regular pitstop. So, even though you may see sparrows in other locales, each bird strike on campus signifies a dilution of the Stevens sparrow’s bloodline. The families of birds that have watched over all of the Stevens students come before you need help.
Train and his son have been actively gathering data for both personal projects and dbird.org, an initiative partnered with NYC Audubon. Describing itself as a platform for reporting incidents involving deceased or injured birds, DBIRD aims to provide valuable insights to guide conservation efforts and advocacy initiatives aimed at mitigating human-induced threats to avian life. Specifically focusing on window-strike-related fatalities on the Stevens campus, the Trains are compiling data to offer tangible evidence of our direct contribution to this issue. With the migration season from March to June approaching, Train foresees a rise in avian casualties due to window strikes and is calling for support from the Stevens student body to assist in data collection and to advocate for available preventative measures.
Train ascribes his family’s dedication to the cause as a sense of obligatory defense of our vulnerable neighbors, “We see [the birds] for who they are.” Our aviary neighbors symbolically resonate with Train, saying, “you can’t let us die silently, you have to tell the story.” Accordingly, Train will be coming to speak on campus on March 7 at 6 p.m. in Kiddie 360. Friends and neighbors of the birds, inspired by his story, are encouraged to attend or find more about Train’s story @mrtrain_ on Instagram.
