Dead birds in downtown Calgary being collected for conservation campaign, wildlife research

During the peak of fall migration, a group of volunteers dedicates nearly every morning to scanning the sidewalks of downtown Calgary for birds killed or injured by crashing into glass windows. 

In over five years of patrolling the streets, the Calgary Urban Species Response Team has found approximately fifty species of birds and bats involved in crashing accidents. 

American coots — plump, chicken-like water birds — and brown creepers — tiny, spotted songbirds — are among the species that fall victim to collisions with buildings in the city, according to the group.

"Any building, actually, even a smaller window, can be quite devastating for birds," said co-founder Kathleen Johnson. 

"That's why we started the program … to find these birds quickly and to hopefully get as many as we can into rehab to give them a chance to survive."

Johnson and her team are participating in Global Bird Rescue, an annual Canada-led campaign to track bird-building collisions in cities worldwide.

For one week in late September or early October each year, a global network of volunteers searches urban areas for birds that have collided with buildings. 

This year's push runs from Oct. 2-8 and aims to raise awareness of the severity of the conservation issue.

Environment Canada estimates that bird-building collisions kill between 16 and 42 million birds annually.

Selling an art gallery to save birds

Over three decades ago, Toronto's Michael Mesure tried to rescue a canary-coloured common yellowthroat from a building collision. 

The bird died, but not long after, he sold his stake in an art gallery to dedicate himself to the issue full-time.

Mesure founded FLAP Canada, a non-profit focused on protecting birds from building collisions.

"I had to choose between my art career or the bird conservation career, and I just could not walk away from this problem," he said. 

"It goes unnoticed … it's so easy to miss these birds." 

Mesure's non-profit created the Global Bird Rescue campaign to draw public attention to the crisis and gauge how collisions impact species populations.

Dead specimens collected for research

Johnson said most birds found by the Calgary Urban Response Team have already died from their injuries. 

The group's volunteers send their bird specimens to educational or research institutions, including the Royal Alberta Museum. 

"Even if you're not exceptionally excited about birds … I think that most of us don't want to do harm," said Johnson.

"We have a direct action that we can take and help birds today."

To help prevent collisions, Johnson said Calgary residents can turn off all their lights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. 

She's also encouraging people to make windows more visible by shutting their curtains and marking their glass. 

The city of Calgary has adopted voluntary bird-friendly urban design guidelines. Johnson said she'd like the city to mandate the guidelines or put more effort into promoting their adoption.