Birds and Collisions
Birds collected after colliding with buildings, Toronto 2009, by Kenneth Herdy, FLAP
Hundreds of millions of birds die each year in collisions with manmade structures, including glass windows and buildings, communication towers, and wind turbines.
Thanks to the generous support of the Leon Levy Foundation, American Bird Conservancy continues to be a leading force in ongoing efforts to protect birds from collisions, working with industry representatives, the federal government, and other conservation groups to find solutions to this growing problem.
To get an idea of the rate of mortality when birds collide with manmade structures in the United States alone, take a look at the following estimates:
Collisions with: |
Year of estimate |
Mortality estimate low |
Mortality estimate high |
Wind turbines |
2009/10 |
100,000 (2010) |
440,000 (2009) |
Towers |
2008 |
4,000,000 |
50,000,000 |
Power lines |
2001 |
10,000,000 |
154,000,000 |
Roads/vehicles |
2005 |
10,700,000 |
380,000,000 |
Urban light |
2009 |
31,158,000 |
|
Glass |
2006 |
100,000,000 |
1,000,000,000 |
For more information about how collisions affect birds, click on one of the specific threats below:
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