Bird Collisions: The Impact of "One"

Hillarie O'Toole | August 7, 2024

The numbers tell a grim story: over one billion birds die each year in the US due to building collisions. But it is through individual stories that we can begin to understand the “butterfly” effect that the loss of just one bird can have on the ecological community. Just one White-throated Sparrow's death has an effect on the environment.


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New Initiative Welcomes More New Yorkers to Enjoy Nature

Carol Peace Robins | September 16, 2024

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) provides affordable housing to nearly 12% of all City residents. NYC Bird Alliance, in partnership with the Public Housing Community Fund, has started a pilot program to engage these residents.
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Birds are Everywhere: A New York City “Little Year”

Linda Ewing | June 21, 2024

Birds may be everywhere, but birders are not. An uneven distribution of bird observations underlies what Brooklyn birder Nick Dawson is calling his “little year.”
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Riverside Park Conservancy Completes Bird-Friendly Retrofit

NYC Bird Alliance and Riverside Park Conservancy | April 8, 2024

In March 2024, Riverside Park Conservancy completed a bird-friendly retrofit of their Peter Jay Sharp Volunteer House, in partnership with a NYC Bird Alliance consultation.
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A Tale of Two Egrets

Don Riepe | March 6, 2024 

For most of my life, I lived happily at Broad Channel, Queens, with the birds outside. Until 15 years ago, when the birds started coming inside. As I sat on my dock in 2009 looking out at Jamaica Bay, a beautiful white Great Egret landed at my house and soon, my new friend Egor the egret would stop by nearly every day for a snack. 
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Study Shows How Weather, Migration Intensity Affect Bird Collisions in New York City

Up to a quarter million birds die annually from crashing into New York City’s buildings due to light pollution and reflective or clear glass. A new study in the Journal of Applied Ecology found that weather forecasts and bird migration intensity data can be used together to predict the days of greatest bird collision risk in New York City. 
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2023 Harbor Herons Report: A Q&A

Olivia Liang | January 8, 2024

NYC Bird Alliance’s annual Harbor Herons Nesting Survey has monitored and protected these birds since 1982. To get a behind-the-scenes look at this year’s data collection, NYC Bird Alliance sat down with Tod Winston, our Urban Biodiversity Specialist and creator of the 2023 State of the Harbor Herons, and Dr. Shannon Curley, PhD, our Harbor Herons Nesting Survey Coordinator.
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Syrinx Spotlight: PSF Volunteer, Photographer & High-School Senior Winston Qin

Olivia Liang | December 4, 2023

Winston Qin is a gifted photographer, an aspiring engineer, a lifelong bird enthusiast, a Project Safe Flight volunteer… and a high school senior. Meet this exceptional teenager devoted to protecting our City’s wild birds. 
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Small Wins. Big Impact.

Olivia Liang | November 10, 2023
"We understand that the New York we’re in today is not the New York we all grew up in. What is our responsibility?"

A Q&A with NYC Bird Alliance’s new Director of Advocacy and Engagement, Saman Mahmood. 
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9/11 Memorial Shines a Spotlight on Risks to Birds

Katherine Chen | October 5, 2023
For over 20 years, NYC Bird Alliance scientists have monitored the 9/11 Tribute in Light. This year was particularly hazardous for birds.
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Turn Off the Lights This Spring and Fall; Save Millions of Lives

Carol Peace Robins | February 27, 2023: 
The bright skyline of New York City may be emblematic of "the city that never sleeps," but the nocturnal glare is dangerous for the millions of migrating birds that travel along the Atlantic Flyway. Learn about this fundamental problem and the ways that NYC Bird Alliance is working towards solutions. 
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Project Safe Flight Points the Way to a Bird-friendly Future

Suzanne Charlé |  November 15, 2022: 
Get the latest updates on Project Safe Flight, NYC Bird Alliance's signature campaign to protect migrating birds in New York City. Learn how we use our research to reduce window collisions. 
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Introducing the Volunteers of Project Safe Flight

Carol Peace Robins |  November 15, 2022: 
Get to know the volunteers of Project Safe Flight, who devote themselves to rescuing injured birds in the City, and in doing so, collect research data crucial to NYC Bird Alliance's advocacy efforts.
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Wind Power on the Horizon

Suzanne Charlé | Jun 21, 2022: 
Learn about an important new wind energy project planned right off of New York City's shoreline—and the efforts being taken to minimize risks to birds and other wildlife.
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Lights Out Laws Move Forward

Suzanne Charlé | Apr 21, 2022: 
Learn about the important recent progress made to reduce artificial nighttime lighting in New York City—and how NYC Bird Alliance is working to further mitigate this hazard for migratory birds.
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What Green Roofs Can Do for NYC’s Environment and People

The NYC Green Roof Researchers Alliance will hold its first annual conference, “The State of Green Roofs in New York City,” to discuss cutting-edge research on urban green roofs on Thursday, June 7, at The New School. This is the first-ever forum on the emerging fields of green roof science, policy, and education. Coordinated by NYC Bird Alliance with funding from The New York Community Trust, the NYC Green Roof Researchers Alliance is a consortium of over 50 researchers, educators, and policymakers from 17 New York City and State institutions. It is investigating the potential benefits of green roofs, developing a comprehensive overview of green roofs in New York City, and working to expand them across the cityscape.
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Study Measures Light's Dramatic Impact on Bird Migration

Billions of birds undertake migratory journeys each spring and fall. Most of these spectacular movements go unseen, occurring under the cover of darkness. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides some of the most compelling evidence yet that artificial light at night causes radical changes in the behaviors of migrating birds.   
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