Interesting article on Slate... Where do birds sleep?

 By Nicholas Lund

Windows may kill up to 988 million birds a year in the United States

 

"Between 365 million and 988 million birds die from crashing into windows in the United States each year, according to the latest estimate."

"That might equal 2 to 10 percent of the (admittedly uncertain) total bird population of the country. The biggest share of the deaths comes not from glass massacres at skyscrapers but from occasional collisions with the nation’s many small buildings, says Scott Loss of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater." “It’s death by a million nicks.”

Full article:  https://www.sciencenews.org/article/windows-may-kill-988-million-birds-year-united-states

Photo: Kara

Feathers stuck to window.

American Bird Conservancy:

Great article by ABC's Dr. Christine Sheppard that was just published by a leading Canadian building construction magazine. It focuses on how to make buildings safer for birds – page 26. Education and issue exposure through articles such as this make a difference!

http://www.kenilworth.com/publications/cc/de/201401/index.html

First window collision casualty of 2014:  
                                               Golden-crowned Kinglet.  

Photo: Chrissy Barton

PROJECT SUCCESS!!  The money we raised will be used to purchase field guides for student volunteers, 2 fellowships, and to purchase solutions to some of the most hazardous windows.  The fundraising campaign most importantly helped raise awareness of this threat to birds.  Thank you to everyone who donated, retweeted, shared, and bugged friends and family!

Tufted titmouse

Some lovey pictures of our winter residents can be found here: A Little Piece of Me.

Bird–building collisions in the United States: Estimates of annual mortality and species vulnerability

"Based on 23 studies, we estimate that between 365 and 988 million birds
(median = 599 million) are killed annually by building collisions in the U.S.,
with roughly 56% of mortality at low-rises, 44% at residences, and, 1% at high-rises."

http://www.aoucospubs.org/doi/pdf/10.1650/CONDOR-13-090.1

Understanding the value of imperfect science from national estimates of bird mortality from window collisions

"The main drawback is the inherent and somewhat unquantifiable bias of using small-scale studies to scale up to a national estimate. The direct benefits include development of new methodologies for creating the estimates, an explicit treatment of known biases with acknowledged uncertainty in the final estimate, and the novel results. Other overarching benefits are that these types of papers are catalysts for improving all aspects of the science of estimates and for policies that must respond to the new information."
http://www.aoucospubs.org/doi/pdf/10.1650/CONDOR-13-134.1

Birding makes big tracks in 2013 and bags young fans

"About 85 million Americans enjoy observing, photographing or feeding wild birds. Birding ranks 15th on a list of the most popular outdoor activities, just below bicycling and beach bumming, according to the most recent National Survey on Recreation and the Environment by the USDA's Forest Service."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/02/birding-sport-big-year-citizen-science/4261529/

Tufted Titmice and Carolina Chickadee

Happy New Year! Let us continue to work to bring some positive changes for the birds.

We have until 7 January (23:01:59 PST) to raise funds to get our window collision project set up for the spring migration. Please consider donating:

https://www.microryza.com/projects/can-we-save-birds-from-flying-into-windows