ENDING BIRD-WINDOW COLLISIONS IN ROCHESTER
OUR PROJECTS
Smash the Crash combines scientific research, art/design, and educational outreach to end bird-window collisions in Rochester. Our current projects focus on documenting and mapping where collisions occur and how often. We do this through building monitoring programs at the University of Rochester, RIT, and downtown as well as a citizen science survey for reporting your collisions to us. We also develop courses, exhibitions, workshops, installations, and other forms of programming. You can learn about these below or on our events calendar.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
BUILDING
MONITORING
PROGRAMS
Any window can kill birds, but some buildings are more lethal than others. To understand which of our buildings are the most deadly, and why, our team of trained volunteers regularly monitors buildings at three sites around the city to document bird-window collisions.
SITE ONE: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
We monitored ten buildings at the University of Rochester’s River Campus in the fall of 2024 and sixteen in the spring of 2025. We plan to continue monitoring for this upcoming academic year. To see our study protocols, including maps of all of the buildings we examined, check out our Reports and Maps page.
During our Fall 2024 study, we found 58 dead birds in only 7 weeks. You can read more about our results here.
SITE TWO: ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
[Coming Fall 2025]
SITE THREE: THE CITY OF ROCHESTER (DOWNTOWN)
In collaboration with our partners at the Rochester Birding Association, we are monitoring several buildings in the downtown area this fall. Check back here soon to read our study protocol.
We are currently recruiting volunteers for all three sites!
If you would like to volunteer as a building monitor, please get in touch with us. Everyone is welcome to join, from university students, faculty, and staff to any Rochester community member. We ask for a 30-minute commitment three times per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) in the afternoon. You can read about our working protocols to find out more. Participation in our study is a great way to meet other individuals passionate about wildlife conservation and develop skills in biological fieldwork, data entry, and species identification.
Below are photographs of some of the collision victims found by our volunteers:
CITIZEN
SCIENCE
SURVEY
In addition to our building monitoring programs, we also run a citizen science survey that helps us determine where collisions are occurring throughout the city. By sharing your observations, you will not only help us visualize local collision hotspots but also contribute to global efforts to document bird-window collisions.
Any resident of the greater Rochester area who has witnessed a collision can participate in this research study–anytime of the day and anytime of the year. You only need a smartphone. Click below for further instructions about how to contribute.
HOW TO REPORT A COLLISION
There are two steps to collision documentation:
1) Take a picture
Ideally, take two pictures: one of the top and one of the side of the bird. This will help us with species identification.
2) Report the collision
Click here to complete a brief survey. Please answer as many questions as you can, but know that some information is better than no information!
You might encounter an injured bird. Signs of stress include open-mouth breathing, eye-shutting, distress calls, drooping head, fluffed feathers, head tilting, inability to stand, blood, broken bones, and a lack of escape behavior. After photographing the bird from a distance, you may choose to safeguard them for rehabilitation. FLAP Canada has made a guide for approaching, handling, and bagging injured birds. Once the bird is secured in a paper bag, contact a wildlife rehabilitation center.
Do NOT try to handle any birds of prey.
We have partnered with the following two wildlife rehabilitators who are approved by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation:
Charlotte “Charli” Rohack
409.974.1840
Kris Forsythe-King
315.374.4542
If you are not comfortable with treating an injured bird, do not hesitate to contact us for help. We will follow up as quickly as possible. It is important that you do not try to chase the bird or provide food or water.
Please note that we cannot accept dead birds due to regulations set by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Leave the bird where you found it. We may look into it after we have received your photo submission.
We encourage you to carry plastic gloves (to handle dead birds for photos), hand sanitizer (to disinfect after handling birds), and brown paper bags (in the event that you need to protect an injured bird).
Your reports will automatically update a live map of Rochester’s bird-window collisions.
ETHNOGRAPHY
[Coming Fall 2025]
ART/DESIGN
COURSES
Alongside our scientific research, we are also creating interdisciplinary courses that teach students about bird-window collisions and bird-safe design solutions:
EXPANDED PRINT MEDIA
Taught by Professor Mizin Shin at the University of Rochester, this undergraduate course explores traditional and emerging print-based techniques through a project centered on designing bird-safe window films.
GALLERY PRACTICUM
Taught by Professor Aaron Delehanty at the University of Rochester, this undergraduate course introduces students to art exhibition practices, with an emphasis on a zine-based project around bird-window collisions.
CAMPUS ECOLOGY
[Coming Fall 2025]
If you are an educator and would like to work with us to develop new courses about this subject, send us an email! We are excited to work with instructors at all levels of the education system.
INSTALLATIONS
At the University of Rochester, Students in Mizin Shin’s printmaking course “Expanded Print Media” designed bird-safe window films. Thanks to generous funding from our partners at the Genesee Valley Audubon Society, we will be printing these with the bird-safe window film company CollidEscape and installing them at the Sage Art Center over the summer of 2025.
EXHIBITIONS
We also curate exhibitions of bird-safe design and other forms of art related to bird-window collisions to raise public awareness.
FIRST EXHIBITION
Our first exhibition, Smash the Crash, is currently on display in the hallway outside the Art and Music Library at the University of Rochester (in the basement of Rush Rhees Library). It features a summary of our research as well as student projects from “Expanded Print Media.” It is free to see and will be open until mid-November.
SECOND EXHIBITION
Our second exhibition will open at the University of Rochester’s Frontispace Gallery in mid-October. It will feature student projects from “Expanded Print Media” as well as photographs, zines, and more. More information will be available on our events calendar.
We hope to curate future exhibitions at RIT and throughout the city of Rochester. If you are a curator and would like to feature our work, please get in touch with a member of our team.
EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
ADVOCACY
Our ultimate goal is the adoption of bird-safe policy: first, at the university level and, second, by City Council.
BIRD-SAFE CAMPUS
There are currently over 100 universities initiatives to end bird-window collisions. Inspired by our peer institutions, we have two objectives: 1) to get our universities to retrofit their most lethal buildings and 2) to change their design standards so all new construction requires bird-safe materials.
As of February 2025, University Facilities and Services at the University of Rochester has agreed to move forward with both of our requests. We are now working with them to make the campus more bird-safe and the university a model for wildlife conservation.
In the next year, we look forward to starting a similar conversation with RIT’s Facilities Management Services.
BIRD-SAFE ROCHESTER
Over the next few years, we intend to propose bird-safe legislation to the city of Rochester.
If you are interested in helping with these efforts, please let us know.
MISCELLANEOUS
As part of our educational outreach programming, we have run workshops and tours and given lectures about bird-window collisions. You can read more about these activities on our calendar, including upcoming events.
During the next year, we plan to expand our offerings to include talks and seminars around the city. Send us an email if you would like to host one of these in your organization, workplace, or community.