History of the Survey

Brief History:

This project was started by graduate students in the fall of 2019 from Graduates of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology RSO on campus. These students were curious about which buildings were problematic for birds and what species were striking these buildings. This upcoming season will be the fifth fall season for the project, although we are changing many aspects of the project (please see current season for more details).

In the past, in five-week seasons we average around 175 strikes in the fall and 50 in the spring at 18 buildings on campus. We have found over 1,500 over four years throughout campus, specifically looking at a broader spectrum and different times as well. Overall, we have found over 85 species of birds as strikes over the last four years, around 60 just during the twenty weeks that we extensively surveyed.

It is important to note the differences between the seasons. A lot more strikes are found in the fall than in the spring (a 3:1 ratio), likely suggesting more hatch-year birds collide with windows as they migrate south, but other ideas on this difference are also possible. Also, there are a lot more strikes found on the North Quad in the fall than on the South in the fall (a 2:1 ratio) and more strikes are found on the South Quad than on the North in the Spring (a 4:1 ratio). We are currently investing in this idea, but likely it's due to window surface height with which migrants strike (lower species = lower window heights, higher species = higher building heights).

Please see below for general stats from what we have found over the years! There is still so much to come from this project in the future!

Male Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)

Female Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)

Current Progress:

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)

Today we are starting to look at ways to help mitigate this threat on campus. Through changing out survey protocol to Quick Capture starting in Spring 2024, we're hoping to continue to find 'strike hotspots' on campus to move forward with mitigation in the future. This project and the findings from it could not have been possible without the dozens of volunteers throughout the years so we thank everyone who has helped with this project in the past so much for their time and dedication! In the past, we received an SSC grant to mitigate collisions at one building on campus and this is still in the process of being completed!

We are also working on spreading more awareness about this issue to not just people on the campus, but to others throughout the community we live in as well. In the Fall of 2021, Colin was interviewed by WCIA about the project before the season started. We are hoping for continued outreach in the near future and please reach out if you would like to help out!

Past (General) Data

Top 10 Fatal Strike Species During the Fall Season (as of Fall 2022)