Abstract

This study sought to determine the scope of fatal bird-window collisions on the University of North Carolina Asheville campus and the factors that influenced them. The specific factors investigated were migration density during the Fall and Spring migratory season, species demographics, context variables (surrounding vegetation structure), and building variables (window aspect). Sixty-six avian carcass surveys were conducted around eight campus buildings during the 2020-2021 academic year. These surveys were distributed across three, five-week periods during Fall 2020, Winter 2021, and Spring 2021. In total, 146 carcasses were observed across the three survey periods. Observations made during the Fall comprised over half of the total observations made, including ad hoc observations not made during the surveys. Juvenile, migratory passerines fatally collided with windows more than adult migratory and resident species. Night-time migration density was not significantly related to observed avian mortality during the Fall or Spring. Window aspects and surrounding vegetation structure had the greatest influence on collision frequency at campus buildings. This study will inform the process of implementing collision-mitigation measures at the building windows that produced the most mortalities. The data can also be used to aid in testing the efficacy of novel collision-mitigation technology in the future.

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