News

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is hosting a Bird-Friendly Student Art Contest this semester, inviting students to submit imaginative window decal designs by March 30 to help prevent bird collisions at Stocking Hall.

The competition is open to all Cornell undergraduate and graduate students. Submissions will be accepted from Jan. 20 through March 30. The winning design will be announced on May 5 and will receive a $500 cash prize; second and third-place designs will be acknowledged without monetary awards.

Student Margaret Lepeshkin created the winning design for the “Make UMass Bird-Friendly Art Competition,” which invited members of the campus community to submit ideas for adhesive panels to install on the atrium windows at the Studio Arts Building to prevent bird collisions.

We are saddened to report that a juvenile hawk has died following a window collision on Cornell University’s main campus. Veterinarians from Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital notified Cornell Lab of Ornithology staff that a deceased juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was recovered near Roberts Hall on the afternoon of July 19, and photo evidence confirmed the presence of a window strike on the west side of the building.

Every year, up to one billion birds die from window strikes in the U.S, species of all sizes brought down by the invisible tragedy of glass. A growing body of research surrounding the severity of window collisions—and ways to avoid them—has resulted in more organizations moving toward bird-friendly buildings, including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

We are saddened to share that a deceased juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was discovered on Cornell University’s campus on August 1. Contractors working on the roof of Bartels Hall notified Cornell Lab of Ornithology staff of a dead hawk in the bushes on the Campus Road side of the building. Based on the location, plumage characteristics, and continued recent sightings of fledglings M1 and M3, the deceased bird is likely to be fledgling M2 from the 2023 Cornell Hawks Cam nest.

Since summer 2022 – when two recently fledged hawks on campus were injured and a third died after flying into windows – a group of Cornell staff, alumni, students and volunteers has worked to retrofit windows on a few buildings so birds can recognize and avoid them, with plans to address the issue on more around the Ithaca campus.

As part of a campus-wide initiative to make Penn more hospitable to birds, a Fall 2022 ideas competition asked Weitzman students to design exterior window film for select buildings in order to reduce fatal collisions (“bird strikes”), and five winners have been selected.

On a clear morning in late June, 80 feet above Cornell University’s campus, the youngest of the Cornell Red-tailed Hawks tightroped the railing of its nest. Viewers of the Cornell Hawks cam watched with apprehension, then anticipation as the hawk stopped and gripped the ledge.

We are saddened to report to the hawk community that one of the fledglings from the 2022 Cornell Hawks cam has died. On the morning of July 14, a juvenile hawk was found dead on the roof of Cornell University’s Stocking Hall, where it was retrieved and delivered to the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital by a Cornell employee.

We are saddened to report that “J1,” the eldest Red-tailed Hawk fledgling from the 2020 Cornell Hawks cam season, has died. On the evening of July 16, a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was found deceased, likely from a fatal collision, near Cornell University’s Weill Hall. The body was first retrieved by a local animal control business and later identified by birders on the ground as “J1.”

A UBC PhD candidate has designed a window application as part of a competition to reduce fatal bird collisions. The SEEDS Sustainability Program project, installed on the CIRS Building, also tells the story of bird biodiversity on campus.