Pain in the Glass

Bird populations have been declining since the 1970’s. With an estimation of up to 1 billion bird mortalities per year in the United States of America, window collisions are a significant conservation concern. Birds perceive reflected images as the real thing, a danger when glass reflects food, shelter, or escape routes. This project aims to identify problem windows on Boise State’s campus, and encourage community awareness and involvement through outreach campaigns and community data collection. One of the overarching goals of this project is to retrofit dangerous windows at BSU with bird-friendly vinyl. 11 buildings on campus were identified as having risk factors including large windows that reflect surrounding landscapes. These buildings were surveyed by students and community volunteers for evidence of bird strikes including dust prints on glass, and carcasses in landscaping. Data was reported through iNaturalist and Google Forms, and compiled by student researchers. We also partnered with the Center for the Visual Arts to take steps toward installing a bird-friendly vinyl window application. Since September of 2023, 60 fatal collisions at 10 different buildings have been reported. University Plaza has the highest number of collisions at 34, followed by the Center for the Visual Arts at 14.