Bird-building Collision Monitoring Efforts Recognized

This past spring, students from the Ornithology Club at The Ohio State University developed a campus-wide monitoring program to check for bird-building collisions during spring and fall migration. Club co-presidents Kandace Glanville and Tyler Ficker collaborated with Chris Tonra (Assistant Professor in Avian Wildlife Ecology) and Matthew Shumar (Program Coordinator, Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative) to develop protocols for the monitoring effort. They were joined this fall by a team of dedicated undergraduate students.

Building collisions have gained increased attention in recent years, and it is estimated that as many as 1 billion birds die from collisions in the United States alone.  In 2012, the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative, along with The Ohio State University and a variety of partners, developed a “Lights Out” campaign to reduce the hazards of urban landscapes in Ohio. Ohio Lights Out is now running in seven of the state’s cities, where local governments and private businesses work together to reduce nighttime lighting and treat reflective glass.

Large college campuses are an ideal setting to incorporate sustainable building designs that are not only energy efficient, but also safe for native wildlife. Students have recovered over 160 birds from Ohio State’s campus this fall and are beginning to assess specific locations, landscape factors, and building designs that contribute to avian mortality.