Bird-Safe Baltimore: a network of community partners ensuring safe passage for birds.
The issue
Billions of birds travel between the northern and southern hemisphere of the Americas twice each year in a spectacular phenomenon called migration. Their journey is perilous - finding enough healthy food to supplement the many calories they’re burning and seeking shelter from predators and the elements. Many birds, up to 50% according to studies, don’t survive. In fact, scientists report that there are 3 billion fewer birds than there were 50 years ago, representing threatened species as well as those once considered common. One major cause of mortality, notably among otherwise healthy birds, is collisions with buildings - hundreds of millions of birds each year, in fact. With 1/3 of the human population in the US residing along the Atlantic Flyway, there is much we can do, both individually and in our communities, to provide safe passage for migrating birds.
Many of us have experienced that sickening “thump” of a bird against a window of our home. Now imagine that at scale - if everyone is familiar with that singular tragedy, and we multiply that by the hundreds of millions of homes in the US, we can start to get an idea of the problem. And the solution!
Did you know?
Did you know most migratory birds migrate at night? They use constellations and the Earth’s magnetism to guide them. Artificial lights from our cities and towns can lure migrating birds to buildings by hiding the light from the stars that guide them. Our light pollution disorients them, steering them off course. Once here, birds are confronted by transparent glass surfaces or windows reflecting the surrounding landscape leading to collisions.
Since 2008, volunteers with Lights Out Baltimore have organized collision monitoring efforts in downtown Baltimore to find and help birds that have collided with buildings during spring and fall migration. Thousands of birds have been rescued by volunteers and rehabilitated at Phoenix Wildlife Center during this time, and the data collected through this process are helping to increase our understanding of collisions, including timing, species involved, and areas of Baltimore or characteristics of buildings that are problematic.
Taking action
Launched in 2023, the Bird-Safe Baltimore network - a partnership of organizations, agencies, institutions, and even businesses and individual residents - are working together to engage Baltimoreans in learning more about the issue of bird collisions and the variety of ways we can help prevent them. Please join in our efforts to save migratory birds by creating safe passage at your home, business, school, commercial building, or elsewhere in your community.
Our partners
-
Education
Everyone has the power to take action to provide safe passage for migratory and resident birds. It may be as simple as flipping a switch.
-
Mitigation
Prevent window collisions at home, school, work, and in your community by making glass visible and turning off nonessential lighting.
-
Legislation
The Bird-Safe Baltimore network advocates for legislation promoting bird-safe, sustainable design.
