Reducing bird-window collisions through science, art, & design

The Michigan Tech campus is positioned within a major migratory route for many bird species and thus many of these birds are at risk of window collisions with campus buildings. In 2014, Michigan Tech students and staff began to survey buildings on campus to determine the impact windows have on bird mortalities during migration. We learned that bird mortalities are not proportional to the window area of a building. Something more is going on. One hypothesis is that we are not finding carcasses at some buildings because they have high scavenger rates. In other words, scavengers such as gulls, crows, and squirrels may be removing the dead birds before we can find them. Thus our estimated mortality at some buildings may appear much lower than it really is. This may cause us to miss problem buildings or windows. To determine if we are underestimating mortality at some buildings, we would like to conduct a scavenger survey that will require use of game trail cameras. This project has created research and creative opportunities for science and art students on the Michigan Tech campus. We’d like to increase these opportunities by creating a student research internship and purchasing supplies for design classes to develop and prototype solutions. Visual arts students will design solutions -- from window treatments to alternative architecture to glass etchings -- that will reduce bird mortalities. In addition, they will build informative displays that educate our community as to the impact of individual buildings on bird mortality. The two groups of students, and the faculty researchers, aim to produce a body of work that combines science, art, and technology to develop new solutions for this prevalent problem.