Birds face many threats when they come into contact with urban environments. One of the leading causes of avian mortality in cities is window collisions. In Canada it is estimated 25 million birds are killed each year as a result of bird-window collisions. The Birds and Windows Project was developed to use citizen science and active participation to continue to identify the factors that affect collision risk at residential homes.
Last fall Environment Canada released a report on the leading causes of human related bird deaths, with collisions with houses or buildings tied for second spot with power lines collisions and electrocutions, behind domestic and feral cats. Most studies on window collisions have focused on tall skyscrapers but based on the sheer number of houses compared to tall skyscrapers, houses represent 90 % of the mortality.
More work is needed; only four studies in the past have focused on bird-window collision mortality at houses.We are asking you to think about bird – window collisions you have observed in the past and would like you to regularly search around your residence for evidence of bird window collisions in the future. This project is across Canada and the United States and will be running at least until the end of 2014. To get involved in the Birds and Windows Project, visit: http://birdswindows.biology.ualberta.ca. You can also follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.