Every year, billions of birds die across the globe from collisions with buildings, windows specifically, because glass is not easily recognizable to the vision of a bird. Hundreds of birds die on UF campus every migration season.
The University of Florida (UF) Bird-Friendly Building Initiative (BFBI), organized in October 2025, aims to decrease bird window collision frequency on UF campus through partnerships between the GREBE Audubon Campus Chapter, Sieving Lab, UF Sustainable Building Coordinators, Alachua Audubon Society, and more. Using regular volunteer monitoring of problem buildings, data analysis, citizen science, outreach and education, and retrofitting of buildings, the UF BFBI hopes to make campus a place that is safer for birds by engaging as much of the community as possible in their conservation.
Our current direct conservation goal is to get decals put on the windows of Newins-Ziegler Hall, the UF Wildlife Ecology and Conservation building. The building killed 20 Cedar Waxwings in one day this spring.
Any monetary contribution to this funding platform will go towards the addition of window collision prevention at Newins-Ziegler Hall. Any leftover funds will carry forward to be used for further efforts at this and other buildings on UF campus.
The cost of the decals we hope to purchase would be at least $1,600. Dots like these almost completely eliminate window collisions on windows where they are installed.
To see proposed decal products:
There is also the option to revamp the existing Acopian birdsavers. If you are a faculty member in NZH, we are happy to hear opinions on prevention options.
To learn more about the issue and the project on campus, see our website:
You can report bird window collisions on UF campus here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/university-of-florida-bird-window-collision-project
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