Colin Dobson conducted research on bird strikes at KAM for the museum’s Sustainability Working Group, which focuses on a pillar of the strategic plan. A 2023 ACES Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences graduate and former head of the Champaign County Audubon Society, he is now pursuing graduate studies at Arkansas State University. He sat down with KAM Director Jon Seydl.
JS: You’ve long been working on a bird strike project on campus. Can you tell us about that?
CD: In 2019, graduate students launched the UIUC Window Collision Project to investigate birds striking campus buildings. Emmarie Alexander and I took over the project in March 2021, tracking buildings thought to have the most detrimental impacts on birds. We’ve recently added the Campus Instructional Facility and Siebel Center for Design as two recently completed buildings covered with windows! We survey twice daily and collect birds in early morning (colliding at night due to lighting) and late afternoon (colliding during the day because of window reflections). We have surveyed for five weeks during each migratory season—99% of the birds that strike are migrating.
JS: We’ve learned about a lot of bird strikes at our building thanks to you. What happens with birds at KAM?
CD: Birds do strike at this location relatively often, but it’s not a spot with high frequency like Beckman, the Business Instructional Facility, or the Campus Instructional Facility. At KAM, Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds strike more than anywhere else on campus. We have also found a couple rare collisions at KAM including a Virginia Rail and an American Woodcock!
JS: Although research is ongoing, can you share preliminary thoughts about next steps for KAM?
CD: The next steps could be sort of mitigation. If we focus on every spot, it is costly and we’re still not going to save every bird. Since KAM does receive strikes for some specific species, it may be best to incorporate window film over the glass so that birds can identify the difference between flying into a reflected tree or shrub and a window with film on it. This leads to fewer collisions. Another thought would be something similar to what the Forbes Building in the Research Park has: a fine rope that dangles on the outside of the windows. Not much research has been completed with this idea, but it is a cost-effective strategy and appears to be working.
