Bird Window Strike Project

Bird Window Strike Project - You Can Help!

CEES is monitoring campus buildings to record bird-building collisions. You can assist with this ongoing project by reporting birds you find that have been involved in collisions. We are collecting data for all collisions (fatal and non-fatal).

What to do if you find a bird.

If you find a bird that struck a campus building, alert CEES and report your find using our online reporting form (use the Collision Report Form button at the bottom of this page). When filling out the form, provide as much information as you can about where the collision occurred. Most smartphones have a compass app that will help you determine direction when reporting the side of the building (= building face) that the bird struck.

If you have identification apps (Seek and/or Merlin) on your phone, identify the bird using the app(s) and report the results. (The reporting form has a place for this.)

If possible, please photograph the bird and send photos to cees@iu.edu. Include a close-up photo of the bird (showing the full body, beak to tail) and a photo showing the bird in relation to the building it struck (this helps us pinpoint where the collision took place). Both dead birds and live birds can be reported using the online form.

All incidental strike reports are appreciated. These reports provide valuable collision data for buildings that we do not monitor. Even if the building where the strike occurred is one that we monitor, incidental strike reports are welcome: these reports help us narrow down the time frame in which a strike occurred, as well as alerting us that a bird is present.

Reports can also be made by email (cees@iu.edu). Please include date and time you found the bird, the building where you found it (including building face), and any other details you think relevant.

Note: we are also recording birds that strike skywalks (both rectangular skywalks and the curved "gerbil tubes") - and - birds that are "trapped" inside garage stairwells. (These live birds are typically "stuck" and unable to figure out how to get out of a stairwell only until the sun goes down. After sunset, once the stairwell lights turn on, the doorway to the garage bay becomes more apparent.)

Project Synopsis

Why Monitor Bird-Building Collisions.

Over the past 50 years, North American birds have experienced a 30% decline in population size.¹ Habitat loss and climate change have contributed to the decline, as have various direct anthropogenic sources of mortality, including cats and collisions. Predation by cats (both feral and domestic) is, by far, the largest source of direct anthropogenic bird mortality: in the United States, cats kill an estimated 1 billion to 4 billion birds each year.¹ Birds also die in large numbers due to collisions with human-made structures: buildings (365-988 million deaths per year), vehicles (88-340 million deaths per year), power lines (8-57 million deaths per year), communications towers (6.6 million deaths per year), and wind turbines (0.6 million deaths per year) all contribute.¹

Not only are bird-building collisions the largest source of collision-related mortality, they are also the most easily documented, and potentially the easiest to remedy. Since 2023, CEES has monitored select buildings to determine when, where, and at what frequency bird-building collisions occur on the IU Indianapolis campus. Our goal is to provide information about the extent of the problem (how many birds die each year in collisions with campus buildings, as well as when/where collisions most often occur) and to offer suggestions for interventions that will deter collisions.

Bird Window Strike Project - Phase 1

The Bird Window Strike Project (BWSP) was initiated spring semester 2023 as part of the Center's service learning program. Initially, we focused on nine buildings: BS-north (Business & SPEA, north of the library), EL (Science & Engineering Lab), ET (Engineering & Technology), LD (Science), IO (Innovation Hall), SL (Engineering, Science & Technology), UL (University Library), XF (Blackford Garage), and XL (Gateway Garage). Additional buildings were added to the project as word about the project spread and the number of people trained to monitor buildings increased. AD (University Hall), BS-south (Business & SPEA, south of the library), ES (Education & Social Work), IP/HO complex (Hine Hall & University Tower), and LE (Lecture Hall) were incorporated into the study summer 2023; CA (Cavanaugh Hall), CE (Campus Center), and UC (Taylor Hall) were added fall semester 2024. Between January 2023 and June 2025, buildings were surveyed year-round, with monitoring occurring once daily (summer and winter) or 2-3 times daily (spring and fall migrations.) Incidental reports made at other buildings have also been collected.

During this three-year period, we recorded more than 1000 collisions, involving 90 bird species; most collisions ended in fatality (77%). We have learned that (unsurprisingly) not all buildings are equally strike-prone. A majority of fatal collisions (63%) occurred at only five locations: Campus Center, University Library, the IP/HO complex, and buildings associated with rectangular skywalks (AD, EL).

Bird Window Strike Project - Phase 2

CEES continues to monitor the most strike-prone areas on campus. These areas are surveyed once a day during spring and fall migrations. Incidental strike reports are collected year round - and you can help! (See above for "What to do if you find a bird.")

Bird Window Strike Project - Phase 3

Once collision-deterrent measures are put in place, CEES will resume more intensive monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of the deterrents.

Information for Building Monitors:

project instructions

guide to photographing birds for the BWSP

specimen information cards

Route maps:

University Hall (AD)

University Library (UL)

Innovation Hall (IO)

Science Buildings (SL/LD)

Lecture Hall (LE)