City University of (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works

Publications and Research CUNY Graduate Center

2013

Project Safe Flight: Making New York Safe for Migratory

Kaitlyn L. Parkins Fordham University

Susan B. Elbin Ph.D. Audubon; Columbia University

Adriana Palmer CUNY Graduate Center

Darren Klein The New School

Elle Barnes New York University

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!! !! ! Project Safe Flight: Making New York Safe for! ! Migratory Birds ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! 1,2 1 1 ! 1 1 ! ! Kaitlyn L. Parkins • Susan B. Elbin, Ph.D. • Adriana Palmer • Darren! Klein • Elle Barnes ! ! ! ! ! ! 1 2 ! ! ! ! ! New York City Audubon, New York, NY • Fordham University, Bronx,! NY • [email protected] !!

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Abstract: More than 100 species of migratory birds pass through New York City during spring and fall migrations. Located at the nexus of several migratory routes, New York City’s tall buildings and reflective glass pose a serious threat to over 100 species of migratory birds. Since 1997, NYC Audubon has led Project Safe Flight (PSF), a volunteer-based citizen-science project, with the goal of monitoring and mitigating collisions. We Patrol Routes and Collision Locations ! Persistence examined 16 years of PSF data, during which volunteers collected over 6,000 birds of 126 different species. The top two species, White-throated Sparrow and Common Yellowthroat, make up 23% of all collisions. The fall migration has a higher average number of collisions than spring. Distinct phenological trends in species composition are apparent, with American Woodcock making up the majority of early spring collisions and Dark-eyed ! In 1997 NYC Audubon volunteers participated in a project designed by Dr. Dan Klem of Muhlenberg College (Gelb!! & Delacretaz 2006). Some high- PSF collision monitoring protocol requires that patrols start no earlier than dawn and be Junco being the most common in late fall. Because birds may be overlooked by volunteers or be taken by scavengers or maintenance crews after completed by 10:00 am. The majority of monitoring takes place between 7:00 and 9:00 am, when collisions, we performed a persistence study and found that the recovery of bird carcasses was highly variable between sites. This ongoing study is collision sites from that study have been monitored ever since, therefore monitors have patrolled some of the same routes for ten or more years. Other important in developing a database of bird collisions to help elucidate and reduce the causes of urban bird collisions. sites have been added, such as the Jewish Theological Seminary, because a) baseline data are needed for future retrofitting of bird-friendly window most monitors are on their way to work (Fig 5). However, to analyze the likelihood of finding a bird treatments, b) new collision sites have been brought to our attention, c) building owners have requested monitoring as part of NYC Audubon’s Lights during any given half-hour period in the morning, we divided the number of birds found during that Out NY campaign, or d) new areas of the city have been added to the monitoring program. Some sites have been! eliminated – for example, the Morgan half hour time by the total number of patrols conducted during that time. That is, if there were four Processing and Distribution Center, a mail sorting plant on Ninth Avenue and 30th Street in , and the Javits Center patrols were discontinued patrols at 7:00 am and four birds were found, the number would be one, or 100% likelihood. If there were four patrols at that time and two birds found, the number would be 0.5, or 50%. following a glass retrofit that essentially eliminated bird collisions at the site (see inset).The majority of collisions have been recorded at the World ! Financial Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art; these two collision “hot spots” are monitored every season (Fig 2, Fig 3). We found that the patrols conducted between 5:00 and 6:00 and between 10:00 and 11:00, on

Birds in New York City average,! were more likely to result in finding birds than patrols conducted at other times during The Bronx ! ! the morning (Fig. 6). We hypothesize that during 6:00 - 10:00, street sweepers are removing birds ! ! 1 - 123 NYC is located within the migration route taken by hundreds of species of birds as they make ! 1 - 123 ! 124 - 903 ! from the sidewalks and preventing monitors from finding them. We conducted a persistence study ! 124 - 903 their way from breeding grounds up north to their southern winter habitats. Two factors make it a ! 904 - 1574 ! 904 - 1574 ! ! at one site (Bryant Park) to start testing this hypothesis and others, that effect the accuracy of our ! challenge to migrate through the city: ! ! ! ! ! data.

Area Enlarged ! ! ! Glass: Collisions with glass are a top human-related cause of bird mortality, after habitat !! ! ! Metropolitan Museum of Art ! 25% 100% # Area Enlarged destruction and cat predation (Loss et al. 2013, Klem 2009). Birds do not perceive glass as a ! 90% Area Enlarged ! ! ! 20% 80% barrier, especially when there is vegetation behind or reflected in windows (Gelb & Delacretaz Time Warner ! # ! 70% !! ! 2006). The majority of birds that strike windows ! 15% 60% ! !!! ! !! Javits Center ! ! die from brain hemorrhaging (Veltri & Klem 2005). ! ! !! I 50% # ! ! ! Bryant Park 0 0.25 0.5 ! ! ! ! 10% 40% # Miles Between 600 million and 1 billion birds die from ! ! I Battery Park ! !! ! ! 30% 0 0.25 0.5 !!! window strikes each year, 90,000 in NYC alone. Miles ! !! Percent of Visits ! ! ! !! 5% 20% ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! !! !! ! ! !!! !! 10% Bellevue Hospital ! % Chance of Finding Bird # ! ! Light: Most landbirds are nocturnal migrants. Queens Bryant Park 0% 0% Figure 3. Sites with high collision density ! !! ! ! 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 Manhattan ! ! ! !! ! Birds are attracted to the glow from tall, brightly 1997-2013. Colored circles represent ! Time !! ! ! Time ! ! ! lit structures, and end up “trapped” in the beams, the total number of collisions. ! ! ! becoming exhausted and confused, only to land ! Figure 5. Frequency of PSF morning patrol times. Figure 6. Likelihood of finding a bird World Financial Center Goldman Sachs ! in inappropriate habitat (like sidewalks and pocket ## during common PSF patrol times. Jacob K. Javits Center!! Retrofit parks). The next morning, they encounter habitat – 55 Water Street 1 # The Jacob K. Javits Center, completed in 1986, has been a focal point for To test the accuracy of our monitoring data, we needed to NYC skyline and Tribute in Lights. reflected in glass windows. ! PSF since 2004. Although beautiful, the expansive glass windows, walls, determine the likelihood of a dead bird being found and and skylights have proven to be a major killer of migrating birds. Our monitors reported by PSF monitors. Does the carcass remain until recorded 450 bird collisions between 2004 and 2012.! However, thanks to PSF ! ! Reported and efforts and the willingness of Javits Center management,! a resolution has been found, or it is removed by predators, traffic, humans, or 33% I ! removed by ! !! ! ! !! sidewalk sweepers. If the carcass persists, what is the monitor reached and the building is being retrofitted with !!! ! Found and 0 1 2 3 4 bird friendly glass – the first renovation of its kind ! ! likelihood our PSF monitors will find and record it? We reported by Miles ! ! ! in NYC. Stainless steel plates replaced much of ! !!!! staff ! !!!! (Barnes) conducted a focused study to investigate the ! ! 63% ! ! ! ! Project Safe Flight !! Not found the glass, while frit-dot glass panes are being !!!!! likelihood that a collision victim would be found by monitors. 4% # used in other areas. Frit-dot patterns make the !!! The persistence study was conducted using tagged, dead Since 1997, NYC Audubon has led Project Safe Flight, a volunteer-based citizen-science glass less reflective, reducing bird collisions. The ! ! !! ! ! ! retrofit, which will be completed by the end of ! ! birds at four sites along one route (Bryant Park). Most program, with the goal of monitoring and mitigating bird collisions in NYC. Figure 2. Top ten high priority collision sites, patrolled 2013, also makes the building 25% more energy birds (63%) were never recovered; 33% were found by regularly from 2009 - 2013 by PSF monitors. Volunteers monitor patrol routes during spring and fall migration, looking for birds that have died efficient. As for the birds, collisions were reduced volunteers; 4% were not found by volunteers but were to just two in the spring of 2013. or been injured due to building collisions. Monitors record the time and location of each patrol. Javits Center.3 recovered by NYCA staff (Fig 9). Additional observations are Figure 7. Bryant Park Persistance

! ! Injured birds are transported to wildlife rehabilitators for treatment and future release. Dead !! needed to determine what actually happened to the birds. Study. European Starling or Brown- birds are brought to NYC Audubon to be identified and processed for shipment to the NY State ! headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) carcasses (donated by USDA/Aphis) Museum. Collision reports from local citizens, not in the PSF program, are also recorded. ! ! were placed at monitoring locations We examined PSF data from Spring 1997 through Spring 2013 for trends in the amount of European Starling carcass with along the Bryant Park route. The collisions based on species, phenology (day Phenology: Temporal Variation in Collisions blue tag, placed on Bryant Park fate of those birds was: reported within migration cycle), and location. We patrol route by NYC Audubon staff and removed by monitor; found analyzed volunteer effort, detection of birds member for persistence study.4 and reported by staff; not found. by volunteers, and persistence of dead birds The peak number of collisions for each migration season (1997-2013) corresponds to the peak period of migration for landbirds, week 18 (late April/ at the monitored sites to establish confidence early May) in the spring and week 42 (October) in the fall. There are more collisions occurring during fall migration than during spring migration, values for our data. These analyses were used reflecting the addition of ‘young of the year’ birds to population (Fig 4). to determine the likelihood of a monitor finding We analyzed the five (5) species that had the highest number of collision victims per season, per year, from 1997 through 2013 (Table 1). The species a bird that has collided with a window and to pattern was consistent across years and suggests the phenology of migration through New York City. determine the percentage of all collisions victims An Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus) and a White-throated Conclusions & Future Studies Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), two common migrants in NYC. 800 that we find. Table 1. Top species collisions by month The results of the persistence study suggest that our estimate of 90,000 bird deaths per year Month Top 5 Species Total Collisions Percent of Total 700 ! caused by collision with glass in New York City is an underestimate. Many dead or injured birds March American Woodcock 31 42 600 body text Song Sparrow 15 21 disappear before they are found by PSF monitors and the timing during the day when PSF

Dark-eyed Junco 9 12 500 monitors are patrolling may not be optimal for finding birds. Birds may be more likely to be found Fox Sparrow 4 5 earlier in the morning before cleaning staff arrive, or later in the morning after the rush hour for Collisions by Species Brown creeper 3 4 400 pedestrian foot traffic. April White-throated Sparrow 96 23 300 Hermit Thrush 32 7 NYC Audubon must continue to work with building owners and tenants, especially at sites with From 1997-2013 monitors reported 6,279 birds from 126 species. Reports of raptor and shorebird Song Sparrow 25 6 200 high collision risk, to reduce bird deaths and feasible solutions to collisions, including ‘bird friendly’ injuries and deaths were low (<1%), with the vast majority of collisions being landbirds. The same American Woodcock 23 6 glass, must be made available. NYC Audubon is working with American Bird Conservancy, Bird-

four species experienced the highest number of collisions in all years: White-throated Sparrow Collisions Total 100 Dark-eyed Junco 22 5 Safe Glass Foundation, NJ Audubon, and Fordham University to test ‘bird friendly’ glass. (Z. albicollis), Common Yellowthroat (G. trichas), Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), and May Common Yellowthroat 237 18 Ovenbird 218 17 0 Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) (Fig 1). Non-native residents of NYC ( Pigeon (Columba livia), 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Reflective glass is only part of the problem. We are also working with colleagues, including White-throated Sparrow 165 13 European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), and English House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)) Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Andrew Farnsworth at , J. Alan Clark at Fordham University, and others, to study constituted only 0.007% of total collisions. Black-and-white Warbler 68 5 Gray Catbird 65 5 how bright beacons of light piercing the sky and urban glow affect bird behavior and flight during September Common Yellowthroat 169 14 Week nocturnal migration. 1000 946 900 ! Warbler sp. 114 9 Figure 4. Total bird collisions reported by PSF monitors per week in 800 Ovenbird 92 8 NYC, 1997-2013. Peak spring migration occurs suring week 18 (late May 700 Black-and-white Warbler 68 6 early April), and peak fall migration occurs in week 42 (October). 600 532 Blackpoll Warbler 54 4 500 October White-throated Sparrow 557 21 397 400 352 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 206 8 Acknowledgments & References 300 239 235 Dark-eyed Junco 192 7 200 168 156 154 131 Hermit Thrush 153 6

Total Collisions Total We thank the NYC Audubon Project Safe Flight volunteers and staff, past and present, who monitored NYC streets and collected data for 100 Golden-crowned Kinglet 132 5 the program and transported injured birds to rehabilitators. Project Safe Flight has been generously funded by the Leon Levy Foundation. 0 Funding was also provided by the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, TogetherGreen, and NYC Audubon’s major donors. We White-throated Common Dark-eyed Ovenbird Ruby-crowned Hermit Thrush Golden- Black-and-white American Gray Catbird November Dark-eyed Junco 167 32 Sparrow Yellowthroat Junco Kinglet crowned Kinglet Warbler Woodcock thank Glenn Phillips, Alan Clark, and Chris Sheppard for helpful discussions. White-throated Sparrow 89 17 Species Photo Credits: 1Public domain, pixbay.com • 2NYC Audubon • 3Jim Henderson • 3Elle Barnes • Other photos by Kaitlyn Parkins Birds collected by PSF monitors, indentified American Woodcock 54 10 Hermit Thrush 30 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet Black-throated Blue Warbler Hermit Thrush Gelb, Y., and Delacretaz, N. The Role of Windows and Vegetation in Manhattan Bird Collisions. Northeastern Naturalist 16:455-470. Figure 1. Top bird collisions by species in NYC, 1997-2013. at the NYC Audubon offices before Klem, D. 2009. Avian mortality at windows: The second largest human source of bird mortality on Earth. Pages 244–251 in Proceedings of the Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference. White photo caption text 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 27 5 Regulus calendula Dendroica caerulescens Catharus guttatus Loss, S. R., T. Will, and P. P. Marra. 2013. The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the . Nature communications 4:1396–7. being donated to NY State Museum. Veltri, C. J., and D. Klem Jr. 2005. Comparison of fatal bird injuries from collisions with towers and windows. Journal of Field 76:127–133.

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