Bird Strike Mitigation Project for Sustainability Exchange, Washington University in St. Louis, Spring 202

Lassally, Annabel

Mennin, Ava

Puri, Arjun

Sasaki, Yumino

English

Washington University St. Louis: Open Scholarship

IntroductionAcknowledgementsAuthorsAnnabelLassallyAvaMenninArjunPuriYuminoSasakiAnne Tieber, Mentor | Professor Losos, Supervisor | Professor Lowry, InstructorSt. Louis Zoo Staff: Amanda Hausman, Leslie Gittemeier, Mallory Balsat, Marija EldenAs humans continue to develop and repurpose the natural world, it is our duty to aid the survival of species whose habitats we have degraded. This includes birds, which in North America have seen their numbers decline by 3 billion since 1970. Birds are vital to many ecosystems and contribute many ecosystem services, including pest control and seed dispersal. However, many bird populations are in drastic decline due to widespread habitat loss -- deforestation has eliminated a great percentage of bird habitats. But further, the buildings we construct in our cities and towns can harm birds too; in the US, up to 1 billion birds die each year from window strikes. These occur because it is difficult for birds to identify transparent windows as they fly.Bird strikes are especially prevalent in St. Louis -- the city lies in the middle of the Mississippi Flyway, a path that many birds take during their migration seasons.As a part of this semester-based initiative, which began in fall of 2019 and is proud to partner with the St. Louis Zoo, we had three main objectives for this semester:ObjectivesUpload finding to WashU Bird Collisions website.Walk campus and note any collisions.Photograph bird and building it collided with.Record weather conditions.Upload finding to iNaturalist.Regions SurveyedFall 2019 Migration CollisionsSpring 2020 Migration CollisionsInvestigate whether bird collisions are occuring on campus.Promote collection of data through awareness campaign.Produce manual for ease of data collection by future groups.Data CollectionData◍ Website: A platform for reporting strikes and raising awareness.◍ Email: Funnels strike reports and observations from website.◍ Flyers & Posters: Inform and spread awareness around campus.◍ Logo: Redesigned to reflect a more positive message.◍ Underpass Painting: Mural painted with awareness message.◍ Newsletters: Flyers posted on departmental newsletters.Awareness Campaign◍ Bird collisions are occurring at specific locations near the East End.◍ Data collection and the awareness campaign were unable to be completed.◍ A comprehensive manual for next semester’s group details information needed to complete this project.Conclusion◍ Engage student body through awareness campaign.◍ Identify potentially problematic areas on campus for bird strikes.◍ Urge WashU to add collision-prevention striping or spots to problem buildings.◍ Make bird collision program self-sustaining and an important, well-known project at WashU.◍ Whether closing blinds reduces bird strikes, as suggested by spring data, should be further studied as a potential mitigation tactic. Future DirectionsInvestigating Bird Collisions with Buildings on the WUSTL CampusLack of bird collisions observed during campus shutdown of spring 2020 suggests shades and blinds may decrease reflectivity and decrease bird strikes. 

Bird Strike Mitigation, Spring 2020

https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&amp;context=sustainabilityexchange

Bird Strike Mitigation, Spring 2020

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Washington University St. Louis: Open Scholarship