Why do birds collide with buildings?
Most people love birds and the joy that they bring to our lives. But birds are in decline throughout the world. Here in North America our wild bird populations are estimated to have declined by 29% since 1970 which translates to a loss of one in every four birds. One of the reasons why birds are in decline is because they frequently collide with buildings, especially when they are migrating. Most of these collisions are fatal. Collisions with buildings are now estimated to kill over a billion birds a year in the U.S. and up to 25 million annually in Canada. This talk by Keith Russell will describe why these collisions occur, why we should be concerned about them, and what can and is being done to prevent them from occurring.

Keith Russell is the Program Manager for Urban Conservation for Audubon Mid-Atlantic. Based in Philadelphia at the Discovery Center his work has involved education, monitoring, research, advocacy, and on the ground conservation to improve conditions for birds in ways that have also broadened engagement in the environmental movement. Areas of special focus include bird migration, bird collisions with human structures, birds and nocturnal lights, native plants, and the history of birds in Philadelphia.

Join us Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 2 PM in Heim Center Room 131/132, Parkway Central Library. And read more about bird collisions on the Free Library's blog.

This program is part of Go Birds: Appreciating Our Avian Friends, a special exhibition on view in the Second Floor West Gallery of Parkway Central Library. Go Birds is a collaboration of the Children's Literature Research Collection, the Government Publications Department, the Map Collection, and the Print and Picture Collection. Visit the exhibition whenever Parkway Central Library is open through August 30th, 2025. 

Image: Black-and-white warbler killed in collision with building in Philadelphia. Photo by Stephen Maciejewski.