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Window collisions kill up to 1 billion birds a year making it the second largest threat to bird populations in the United States. The good news is that bird-window collisions are preventable when a few simple steps are taken and this can begin by gathering data. With fall migration upon us, Michigan Audubon is looking for volunteers to monitor bird fatalities at buildings in the downtown Lansing area and on Michigan State University’s campus.

Collecting data about bird-window collisions can help to assess high-risk buildings and inspire property owners to make changes to ensure greater safety for birds including moving plants away from windows and reducing artificial night lighting.

Monitoring is ideally done in the early morning before specimens are removed by cleaning crews or eaten by predators, but collection times are flexible. Specimens should be photographed and collected. Michigan Audubon will provide volunteers with necessary equipment.

If interested, please join us for a volunteer training session on Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. We will meet at the MSU Museum (409 W. Circle Dr., East Lansing, MI 48824) for an introduction into window collision monitoring followed by a brief walk along one of the monitored routes. Volunteers are needed to walk collision monitoring routes from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31, surveying each assigned building 2–3 times per week.

If you have any questions, please contact Michigan Audubon Conservation Project Coordinator Linnea Rowse at lrowse@michiganaudubon.org or 517-580-7364.

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