During fall migration in October of 2023, 966 birds died after colliding with windows at the McCormick Place Lakeside Center in Chicago. This is the highest number of bird deaths recorded in a single day from a single building. Throughout 2023, a total of 10,836 birds were collected on the streets of Chicago. Although urban areas account for less than 1% of window collisions, they are highly visible, and the event in October prompted the Lakeside Center to implement bird-safe window film and other mitigation measures with their lighting. These measures have resulted in a significant reduction in collisions.

The Bird Collisions in the Anthropocene project, led by Holly Greenberg from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University, is raising awareness about bird-window collisions by promoting workshops to create replicas of every bird killed in Chicago in 2023. These replicas, tagged with the crafter’s name, location and date, will become part of a large scale art installation of a 4’x300′ foot ‘carpet’ of these birds. Embracing an environmentally sustainable practice, we use donated fabric scraps that would otherwise end up in the landfill. Birds are tagged with their common and scientific name, date of death and the name of the artist. To learn more about the project, please visit https://www.hollygreenberg.com/bird-collisions-anthropocene.

To celebrate World Migratory Bird Day, Menunkatuck Audubon and New Haven Parks invites you to help with the project through a public workshop at Barnard Nature Center. Join us and make a small soft-sculpture bird for this community conservation art project, The workshop is appropriate for teens, adults, and families with children aged 6+. It is a wonderful way for parents to connect with kids through a crafting event while discussing wildlife conservation.

Space is limited. Register here.