Development Of a Checklist to Assess University Campuses for Bird-Friendliness Qualities

Nashville, Tennessee recently became part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Urban Bird Treaty (UBT) program. The Nashville UBT aims to protect and enhance bird-friendly habitats, reduce hazards to birds, and connect people to nature through bird-related activities. To support these aims, students in a conservation biology course researched potential hazards and ideal habitats for birds on college campuses. They developed a checklist covering various bird-friendly criteria, including landscaping, water sources, windows, lighting, use of pesticides, and presence of cats and other bird predators. Students then beta-tested the checklist on the campus at Belmont University. The goals of this project are to engage students in learning about urban bird-friendly criteria, apply that information to develop and test the checklist, and create a tool that can be used by other universities to assess their campuses for characteristics that support urban birds. The checklist and course project details will be presented