Each year, more than one billion birds die in the United States as a result of colliding with windows. Collision rates are especially high during spring and fall when most birds are migrating to-and-from their breeding grounds. Bird-window collisions are considered one of the most pervasive conservation issues facing birds in North America.

To address this pressing concern, more than 280 students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have spent the past three years daily surveying 23 campus buildings to determine how many birds and of which species are killed, how often and where—and they will be revealing the results of their work, as well as solutions to address bird collisions, in an exhibit at the UMass Olver Design Building.

The new exhibit, “Reflections on Collisions,” outlines the results of student-led surveys on the UMass campus, some of the student-prepared museum specimens, and what can be done to prevent bird-window collisions. Thankfully, these collisions can be easily avoided: new windows can be manufactured to be bird safe, while existing windows can be outfitted retroactively with bird-safe window coverings. A reception heralding the exhibit’s opening will be held on April 2 from 5-6:30 p.m. and is open to the public, and the exhibit will be on public display through May 1.

As UMass doctoral student and lead exhibit designer Rozy Bathrick notes, “Bird-window collisions are incredibly sad to witness and a pressing conservation concern, but they are also one threat that each and every person can do something about. We want this exhibit to educate and bring hope.”

The importance of this work was recently recognized by Healey-Driscoll Administration, which awarded the team $173,404 to continue to make the UMass Amherst campus bird safe.

“This project has brought together so many different people with so much passion and so many different areas of expertise, says Nathan Senner, an assistant professor of environmental conservation at UMass Amherst and one of the project’s leads. “We hope that the exhibit can help demonstrate how all of that energy and interest has come together to bring change to the UMass campus.”