Students push to see a drop in bird deaths on campus

<p>Photo of Claira Brizendine walking on IUI campus. Photo credit: Claira Brizendine, Photo Courtesy of Mason Einhaus</p>

Photo of Claira Brizendine walking on IUI campus. Photo credit: Claira Brizendine, Photo Courtesy of Mason Einhaus

Claira Brizendine, an environmental science major, walks through the cool air around campus every Monday and Tuesday to look for dead birds that have crashed into campus buildings. During her walks, she finds two to three lifeless birds in the bushes. She takes notes on what building they have flown into, the time she found them and the type of bird. Brizendine, a junior at IUI, is an intern participating in the The Bird Window Strike Project with the Center of Earth and Environmental Science (CEES). A program whose mission statement explains that its goal is to grow leaders in environment growth and natural resources management.

IU Indy students and faculty are probably unaware that the Bird Alliance Organization has gathered that 1 billion birds meet their deaths flying into buildings. And, more unaware that their campus buildings are contributing to this national issue. The Bird Window Strike Project is working with students to find out what the university can do about their part in this issue. Birds cannot see glass, says Mass Audubon, therefore they attempt to fly through the windows and ultimately fall to their deaths.

“Birds flying into buildings and windows is the leading cause of their deaths,” Brizendine said. “We hope to gather enough data to eventually present to people at IUPUI in hopes of mitigating the issue.”

Presenting the issue to IUI requires the group to follow a process to make sure all the data is gathered properly.

“After we collect them, we make sure to write down the time, day, species, building and direction before they go into the lab freezer, where they stay until my supervisor can properly identify them,” Brizendine said.

Unbeknownst to many other students is the impact small creatures like birds have on the environment.

“Birds are pollinators, seed dispersers, indicator species, and great pest control (reduce disease),” Brizendine explained. “ Without birds, the ecosystem would not run as smoothly.”

The buildings on campus are a threat to the birds, Brizendine said, and The Bird Window Strike Project wants to do something about it. While their mission is big, the individual time commitments are small, making this internship obtainable for college students. Brizendine walks around campus twice a week looking for dead birds, but there is at least one person every day.

"I go out on Mondays and Tuesdays and do the West route between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.,” said Brizendine.

There are multiple unknown opportunities on campus that can lead to making an impact. However, there has been a pause in accepting new students for this particular internship because of the aviation flu. But, there are more opportunities available. Brizendine shared what to do if students are interested in being involved: Students can contact Dr. Victoria Schmalhofer by emailing their cover letter and resume, to be an intern for CEES.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2025 The Campus Citizen, IUPUI