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Government estimates put the number of bird deaths in Canada resulting from window collisions in the an estimate that on the high end, skyrockets to over And Miki is all too familiar with these glass casualties.

Miki is a volunteer with short for Fatal Light Awareness Program, which is a 色色啦-based organization that has been operating for over 30 years and has been raising awareness on the dangers buildings pose to birds.聽

The group has volunteers who patrol areas in the Greater 色色啦 Area during fall and spring migration periods, rescuing birds that have collided with glass. By mid-August, FLAP had already posted an image of a deceased Bay-breasted Warbler by a volunteer.

When Miki comes across a bird that survived one of these strikes, she can help rescue the stunned animal before it falls victim to further injury or death; an injured bird lying motionless on the pavement can easily become prey for another animal.

Capturing a stunned bird, either by carefully grasping with one鈥檚 hand or with the help of a net, can be challenging as they may try to fly away, seemingly unaware of their injuries. But if a volunteer is successful in doing so, the bird may receive treatment at the FLAP office or be brought to the 色色啦 Wildlife Centre for further attention if required.

But while surviving the impact is the ideal outcome from a collision with glass, it is not the most common one.

鈥淯nfortunately, most of the birds that we find are dead,鈥� says Miki. And some are harder to witness than others.

鈥淭hat’s really always a sad, heartbreaking moment for us鈥� says Miki, referring to patrollers when they come across a bird that has been crushed by a pedestrian. 鈥淚 have seen people step on those dead birds right in front of me.鈥�

鈥淏irds provide essential services like pest control, pollination and seed dispersal,鈥� says FLAP Canada executive director and co-founder Michael Mesure. 鈥淲ithout these services, we’ll continue to see an increase in disease, habitat loss and climate change.鈥�

鈥淏ottom line: without wild birds, we are in trouble,鈥� Mesure says.

When Miki finds a bird that has fallen victim to the effects of our urban development, the process has become routine. She鈥檒l first take a photo, making sure to incorporate the building so that it and which side the collision occurred can be later identified. She鈥檒l then put the bird鈥檚 body into a resealable bag where she鈥檒l then take it home, tag it, and record it in the Global Bird Collision Mapper, a map run by FLAP that tracks bird-building collisions around the world.

While all varieties of species may fall victim to building collisions, Miki points out that some birds are better suited to navigating our glass-abundant city than others. 鈥淎 lot of the city birds like pigeons and house sparrows, they kind of know how to navigate better than the migratory bird that might be passing by our city.鈥�

In 2023, a wild turkey formed the centrepiece of a display by FLAP intended to highlight the scope of the problem at hand. The display was a sprawling collection of close to 4000 dead birds collected by volunteers during a fall and spring migration season.

Prior to becoming a bird rescuer, Miki had called FLAP when she witnessed window collisions near her house. 鈥淚t was really always a nice interaction 鈥� I always admired their work.鈥� And after being cooped up during the COVID-19 pandemic, Miki says she decided to join as a volunteer. 鈥淚 wanted to do something that makes me happy.鈥�

But Miki says she wouldn鈥檛 necessarily call the work rewarding, adding, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any volunteer wants to go out and pick up dead birds.鈥� And some days are worse than others, Miki explains, pointing to the previous day she was on patrol. 鈥淚 had over like 30 birds dead and just one live. So, that’s a really bad day.鈥�

Still, she nonetheless continues on in her bird rescue volunteer work, mostly because she says there is a solution that would reduce these window collisions.

That solution? Dots. Lots of them.

The application of visual markers, like dots or lines, to the surface of windows can prevent bird collisions by showing birds that there is a barrier there and not what is being reflected, like trees or open space.

And while towering glass skyscrapers may seem like the primary culprit of bird deaths they only account for about one per cent of collisions. Structures like single homes or lowrise buildings are the main problem.

鈥� 鈥� That gives me a little bit of hope because it鈥檚 not like a mystery we need to solve,鈥� says Miki. 鈥淭here is a solution. It鈥檚 just a lack of maybe awareness, or how much we care about birds or biodiversity. So, if we can change the people鈥檚 view a little towards how to persevere our biodiversity maybe we can create a positive change.鈥�