Making the Skies Safe for Birds: What We Found in Tucson

By Olya Phillips

During peak migration many birds become disoriented by lit up skies over city centers, causing them to veer off course and collide with buildings. You may have seen news articles about large collision events from various metropolitan areas. While we haven’t experienced this in Tucson, Tucson Audubon’s Bird-safe Buildings program seeks to determine how big of a problem we do have here. The program started conducting monitoring surveys for bird window collisions this year in two areas with the highest density of high-rise buildings: Downtown Tucson and the University of Arizona. We sent volunteers out on assigned routes during peak migration: April through May and August through October. Since most songbirds travel by night, our volunteers started early in the morning to document any window strikes that may have occurred overnight.

Concurrently, we recorded migration intensity in Arizona using the BirdCast website that provides migration forecasts for the US using weather surveillance radar. This allowed us to keep track of any large migration events in our area to compare with strike results and to send out “lights out” alerts on our social media.

Example of a BirdCast forecast

 
While we saw some notable correlations between collisions and migration intensity, it should be noted that varying detectability must be taken into account. For example, larger birds are more easily detected and some birds get carried away by scavengers before they are found.

During the spring migration of 2021 we found 7 total casualties: 2 House Finches, 1 Mourning Dove, 1 White-winged Dove, 1 Cliff Swallow, 1 Black-headed Grosbeak, and 1 Western Tanager. Six of these were discovered along the University route.

During fall migration we found 5 casualties: 1 House Sparrow, 2 Mourning Doves, 1 Western Tanager and 1 White-winged dove. This time, the majority was found Downtown. View routes and strike locations.

 

Black-headed Grosbeak found on survey

While our numbers are low (a good thing), we still have an obvious problem. We will continue to use our observations to ask building managers to treat windows or turn off lights to prevent strikes, and we’ll also contribute data to organizations that study this issue (dBird, iNaturalist, and Global Collision Mapper). Previously, there have been very few submissions for our area simply because no other program like this exists in Arizona.

All of the collected carcasses serve a purpose too. They are given to Liberty Wildlife Rehab Center in Phoenix where they have a Non-eagle Feather Repository Program that distributes the feathers to Native American tribes for ceremonial needs. We’ve also formed a great partnership with Tucson Wildlife Center to take injured birds for rehabilitation.

Most importantly, we strongly encourage all homeowners to strike-proof their windows because residential buildings pose the greatest threat to birds as they nest and interact in the habitat we create for them with plants, feeders and water features.

Here is how you can get involved:

• Head to our Bird-safe Buildings page to learn how to prevent window strikes at home.
• Sign up for our free recognition program and receive a program decal.
• Grab a Free window decal kit at our Nature Shop!
• Volunteer to be a bird-collision monitor. Email Taylor Rubin (trubin@tucsonaudubon.org) 

The Bird-safe Buildings Program is made possible by grants from National Audubon and Tracy Aviary. 

Olya Phillips is the Community Science Coordinator at Tucson Audubon. She heads the Bird-safe Buildings and the Desert Nestbox Programs providing safe places for our local birds to interact and nest. Olya has a degree in Wildlife Conservation and Management from University of Arizona and a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems. She enjoys using technology to observe and study birds which allows for minimal disruption and a lot of valuable information gathered.