Help understand the trends and patterns of bird window collisions in the Madison, Wisconsin area

Fall 2024 survey period: Sept. 16 - November 1

Registration for fall 2024 is now closed.

about bird collision corps

*A glass-fronted building reflects clear sky. Photo by Kevin Harber*

When you look at a tall, glass-fronted building, what do you see? If you put on a "bird-lens", you would quite likely see more open sky to fly through, more habitat to tuck into, or more moonlight to guide you on your journey. The result is hundreds of thousands of birds crashing into windows, which is the second highest human-caused death of birds after free-ranging cats.

Thankfully, we do know a little bit about the problem. Tall buildings with lots of reflective glass are a big problem. So are buildings with lights on during the night when birds are migrating. But there is still much to learn, and much to document in order to encourage change.

Read the Yale Bird-friendly building report that includes Madison in the case study

The Bird Collision Corps is a Madison, WI-based citizen science project that works with volunteers who help study what leads to bird deaths caused by window strikes. We are currently focusing on these project areas:

University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, in partnership with UW-Madison Facilities Planning and Management, UW-Madison Forest and Wildlife Ecology, Dane County’s Wildlife Center, and American Bird Conservancy (began in Spring 2018)
American Family Insurance’s national headquarters, located on the east side of Madison (began in Fall 2020)
Capitol Square area, including 7 buildings owned by Urban Land Interest’s 7 buildings, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Museum of Contemporary Arts, and Madison Children’s Museum. ULI joined the program in Fall 2020, and Overture, MMoCA, and MCM in Spring 2022
Henry Vilas Zoo on Madison’s south side (began in Spring 2024)
Holy Wisdom Monastery north of Lake Mendota in Middleton (began in Fall 2021)
Lincoln Elementary School on Madison’s south side (began in Fall 2023)
Madison College on the north side of Madison (new in Fall 2024)
Madison Country Day School on the north side of Lake Mendota near Cherokee Marsh (began in Fall 2022)
Madison Parks office on the southwestern shore of Lake Monona, near John Nolan Dr. (new in Fall 2024)
Oakwood Village - Prairie Ridge on Madison’s far-east side(began in Fall 2023)
Thoreau Elementary School on the near-west side of Madison (began in Spring 2024)
Warner Park Community Recreation Center on Madison’s north side (new in Fall 2024)
Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) on the isthmus of Madison along E. Washington (new in Fall 2024) and Madison Youth Arts (MYArts) around the corner from WYSO on E Mifflin (began in Spring 2023)

How does the program work?

*An Indigo Bunting killed by a window strike. Photo by Maria Parrott-Ryan during a BCC survey.*

TIME FRAME: Spring survey periods runs mid-April-June 1. Fall survey periods run mid-September-November 1. Surveys are done weekly in the mornings before 9:30am. Volunteers will select which day(s) and building group(s) they’d like to survey, and survey once-per-week on that day during the survey period.

TRAINING: Volunteers will receive online training and resources for completing the surveys and handling injured or killed birds. No expertise in bird ID or handling is required! Our trainings are held online.

SURVEY PROCESS: Bird Collision Corps participants will look for birds on the ground and in the vegetation around their assigned buildings that have been killed or stunned by impact with the building. Surveys take between 30-90 minutes. Data are recorded through the free smartphone app, iNaturalist.

Data collected through this program will be analyzed and shared with the site facilities community, researchers, and the general public in an effort to make Madison a more bird-friendly place and advance our broader knowledge of causes and solutions to the window strike problem.