Here are some resources for information regarding bird deaths caused by window collision statistics, impact of bird species decline, affects of light pollution on migratory birds, migratory birds interactive maps and documentaries, etc.
Helpful apps are also included!
The city of Toronto has taken an active approach to this environmental issue.
Notes from manuals: mirrored glass is one of the worst glass designs for bird collisions since the glass reflects trees and the natural environment for a building to blend in.
Architecture that tries to be more environmentally friendly such as green roofs create a danger for the birds because the spaces attract birds for food and nesting but there is still a lot of surrounding glass.
"Since 2007, this work has been copied by several cities across North America demonstrating Toronto’s leadership in this key environmental policy area"
Now a legal issue, who is responsible? Who takes responsibility for the bird deaths?
The manual noted that commercial buildings more than four stories tall were responsible for their buildings being bird safe.
"Owners and managers of buildings whose windows reflect light as a contaminant are violating s.14 of the EPA, as well as s. 32 of the SARA where death or injury occurs to a species at risk. In summary, it is now an offence under Ontario’s EPA and the federal SARA for a building to emit reflected light that kills or injures birds" (Page 11 in Bird-Friendly Best practices glass manual)
Links to Toronto's Bird-Friendly Environmental Guidelines:
Toronto, C. (2018, March 15). Bird-Friendly Guidelines. Retrieved November 13, 2020, from https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/design-guidelines/bird-friendly-guidelines/
Architecture and Design
https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/8d1c-Bird-Friendly-Best-Practices-Glass.pdf
Light Pollution:
toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/8ff6-city-planning-bird-effective-lighting.pdf
Note: A very helpful resource of a Canadian organization that documents bird statistics. Offers research that has been done. Provides steps on what to do if you found an injured bird and how to temporarily take care of them. An organization that is open to volunteers to help out in the cause. FLAP collaborates with the Royal Ontario Musuem, Paneful Endings annually in Toronto.
Interactive map of bird deaths reported. A map where anyone can create a report and add photos of a bird killed by glass all around the world. Most of the cases reported are in North America
FLAP. (2020, March 30). Organization website. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://flap.org/research/
BBC Article
Note: This news article provides two short video clips interviewing people actively concerned for the birds and watch how they collect birds in the early morning hours in the spring and fall searching for dead migratory birds.
Lewis, A. (2014, May 21). The invisible killer threatening millions of migrating birds. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27426866
ABCbirds.org
An American organization similar to FLAP. This website also shares helpful testing videos showing how they test effective bird designs by using a dark tunnel system with two windows with different designs. They see which design the birds try to fly through but are caught in a net in front of the window. They even offer window solution designs that they offer for sale.
They also offer PDF design guides and resources for architects, development builders and homeowners.
25 Years of Bird Conservation Results. (2020, November 13). Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://abcbirds.org/
Here are a few links to interactive maps. The maps helps with researching to locate birds and their migratory patterns. Noting the time period when some migratory birds are active the most will help in my planning for my project. I can make arrangments with glass spaces and have the feather mandalas displayed in the spring and summer when populations are moving the most and it is also the time period when the most glass bird deaths occur.
Bird Cast
An interactive map where you can watch live the bird migratory patterns throughout the year.
Cast, Bird. (2020). Live bird migration maps. Retrieved November 20, 2020, from https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/
ebird.org
Here is also an interactive map that shows the migration patterns of a specific species. Essentially you can look up your favorite bird and look for the population density throughout the year. I have shown an example of the Canada Goose.
Bird, E. (2020). Canada Goose - Abundance animation - eBird Status and Trends. Retrieved November 20, 2020, from https://ebird.org/science/status-and-trends/cangoo/abundance-map-weekly