Spring migration is winding down and many of our favorite birds have returned to back yard feeders for their summer stay. But those long journeys can include navigating hazards both enroute and once they have arrived for the season. Among those hazards are the very windows we look out from to admire those birds.
A student at Nebraska’s Metropolitan Community College, Dorian Dunham, took his interest and concern for birds one step further beginning in May of last year, documenting bird window collisions and the number of birds impacted at the South Omaha campus.
Dunham said, “I was upset when I found, along an approximately 600-foot section that has a 2½-story clear glass window on the north side of the facility, there were at least 51 collisions in May 2025 alone, mostly warblers and sparrows. Many of these birds flew from as far away as South America to their summer nesting home. That’s thousands of miles only to have their journey tragically ended in a collision with a window.”
This discovery led Dunham to reach out to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Nebraska Ecological Services Field Office to share what he had discovered. Together they began working toward a solution to address bird collisions that will benefit bird populations for years to come: window applications that help birds better see and avoid striking the building. Solutions that can extend to our own back yard and windows to reduce even more collisions.
In July, the field office began working with Kay Friesen, vice president of operations (retired) for the college, on possible retrofits. The school fully funded the project, and the Service provided technical assistance throughout the process. With guidance and insight from the Service, the enthusiastic college team expanded its monitoring of bird fatalities and began efforts to apply seasonal light reduction to further benefit area birds and lessen light pollution that may contribute to the hazard.
Next, they installed bird-friendly glass decals across the entire north surface of windows in early October 2025. They used reputable Feather Friendly window decals, one of the growing number of products with noted success nationally in reversing bird collision trends.
Friesen noted, “This project exemplifies the collaborative spirit of our campus community and our commitment to sustainability in both practice and education. We are proud to model responsible stewardship and to contribute to broader conservation efforts in our state.”
Samantha Brooke, assistant regional director for migratory birds in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Mountain-Prairie Region, said, “Unfortunately, birds don’t see glass as a barrier. They see natural reflections like clouds, the sky or trees, or when plants seen through windows look like natural habitat, as otherwise safe, leading to collisions. Metropolitan Community College’s commitment to bird conservation is commendable for addressing the problem on their own campus and setting a great example for their entire community.”
Dunham, now a graduate of Metropolitan Community College and a current psychology major at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, added, “Words cannot describe how happy I was that the college decided to act on this! I spent a considerable amount of time and effort advocating for a resolution to this problem. I compiled data that demonstrated the magnitude of the issue so college staff could make an informed decision to move forward with a solution.”
“I’ve always cared about the natural world, and birds are a passion of mine. That led me to learn more about the serious challenges they face that threaten their continued survival in today’s world,” he said. “Advocating for their future was and still is important to me. I want to ensure that future generations have the same opportunity to enjoy them as I have.”
Dunham was aware of decals and other methods to prevent bird strikes, mostly in residential settings, but was not as familiar with applications that work for large commercial buildings. He believed solutions existed for the issues on campus but did not find any local applications to gauge success and options. Reaching out to the Nebraska Field Office gave the Service the opportunity to provide those answers and technical advice that led to the present-day solution.
“I’m excited by the growing momentum around solutions to window strikes in our community, and I’m especially grateful that Metropolitan Community College has taken steps to address this issue,” he said. “I’m hopeful the work here will not only further educate the public about the seriousness of bird collisions but also help inspire others to look at bird-safe designs for commercial buildings and even right to their homes and own backyards.”
All involved in this effort truly deserve a pat on the back to reach the point we are at today and knowing that even more improvements will result as word spreads in their community. Leadership at the college and Dunham were both forthcoming and responsive to the need to take action to reverse the likelihood of continual bird-glass collisions.
Each year more than 500 million birds collide with glass nationwide. This creates one of the largest human-caused threats to migratory bird populations. Also noteworthy, since the 1970s, bird populations have declined by approximately 3 billion birds, or roughly one in every four birds. Many of the 1,093 species of birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are experiencing population declines from a variety of increased threats. Of those species, 89 bird species are listed as either threatened or endangered, and another 342 species are listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as birds of conservation concern.
For more information:
- Learn more about the threats from buildings and glass to birds and solutions
- Learn more about the 3 billion bird initiative, 3BillionBirds.Org is a partner website and is not USFWS endorsed.
- American Bird Conservancy retrofit options database American Bird Conservancy is a partner web site and is not USFWS endorsed.
