Open Collections

Abstract

Collision with building windows is one of the main causes of direct humanrelated bird deaths in North America, particularly during migration seasons. Vancouver has the highest densities of wintering birds of any Canadian city, so occupants on the University of British Columbia campus were interested in finding out whether or not bird collisions are a significant problem. As a result, for a period of eight months, four Environmental Sciences students, partnering up with The UBC SEEDS program, UBC Sustainability and Engineering, UBC Building Operations and Environment Canada, compiled and analyzed birdcollision data on the UBC Vancouver campus. The project mainly focuses on the problem of birdbuilding collisions and the severity of the situation. Ten buildings were chosen for their have high percentage of glass cover and are suspected to be the most problematic on campus. The number of bird collisions at each selected building were then recorded and examined for patterns. Since this study is one of the first birdwindow collision studies on UBC, the results will help to inform future UBC birdfriendly building guidelines and future studies.