Bird-Window Collision Risks and Mitigation Strategies at Buchanan : The University of British Columbia
Creators: name: Wazny, Natalia
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2024

description: With an expanding urban environment in most countries, cities like Vancouver are at a great risk of rising human-wildlife conflict due to the proximity of very productive ecosystems. In Canada alone, buildings with highly reflective glass contribute to the mortality of an estimated 25 million birds annually. Understanding the factors that lead to bird-window collisions in buildings is crucial, especially since collisions with manmade structures are the greatest human inflicted cause of avian mortality. Globally Birds often fail to recognize glass as a physical barrier and instead mistake it for open air, sky, or reflected vegetation, which resembles their natural habitat. Collisions are exacerbated by the increasing surface area of glass, as well as attractants such as dense vegetation near the windows, bodies of water, or bird feeders. This research project specifically focused on bird collisions at the Buchanan building located at the University of British Columbia. The aims of this study were to determine specifically how many bird collisions occurred at the Buchanan Building and whether the 2 Feather Friendly® retrofitted facades implemented in 2022 and 2023, effectively reduced the frequency of bird-window collisions on those facades. We also aimed to identify which facades at Buchanan were in urgent need of being retrofitted, since this might be the last year of data collection at this building. We hypothesized that the two facades retrofitted at Buchanan would see a reduction of collision frequency by about 95% since their installation. After our 8 weeks of data collection, we compiled and analyzed the bird collision from the past 4 years (2021-2024) and found that facades retrofitted with Feather Friendly markers were indeed 99%-100% effective at preventing bird collisions. Overall, there has been a noticeable 41% average decline in collisions at Buchanan each year. Vegetation, water and window reflectivity are the two main attractants still driving bird window collisions at many of the facades . Expanding projects across seasons at UBC could offer insights into seasonality effects on bird species and species-specific vulnerability. Investigating bird density and distribution beforehand could optimize mitigation strategy implementation. A practical suggestion could be to retrofit the three most problematic facades; 21, 26, and 31, which continue to contribute to collisions annually. Retrofitting these facades will further reduce collision rates. Alternatively, a cost-effective solution for Buchanan could involve installing hanging cords in front of office windows or enlisting volunteers to apply art designs on windows using oil-based markers or tempera paint, all of which have been proven effective as window deterrents. Sustained collaboration with the building management in this project is essential for raising awareness about bird-window collisions, potentially leading to increased awareness of the issue and the implementation of home-based solutions.The continued implementation of Feather Friendly® is a necessity at Buchanan and campus wide to reduce the severity of this human wildlife conflict UBC. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”