Project Safe Flight Information Session (3/18/24)

Did you know that up to a quarter million birds die from collisions with New York City's buildings as they migrate through our area each spring and fall? Help NYC Audubon study the causes of these collisions and ways to prevent them by becoming a Project Safe Flight (PSF) volunteer this spring.

PSF was started by a few dedicated volunteers in 1997 to protect migrating birds, many of which are rare or endangered. Continuing every year since then, PSF enlists dozens of volunteers to patrol the streets of New York City in the early morning during spring and autumn migration periods in search of dead and injured birds that have collided with buildings. 

Injured birds are brought to animal care centers for rehabilitation. Dead birds are collected and transferred to various natural history museums and research institutions. All the collected birds (dead or injured) are entered into our database, providing a powerful tool for understanding the geography and dynamics of urban bird collisions. PSF data was instrumental in convincing the New York City Council to unanimously pass Lights Out NYC legislation Int. 271 & 274 in December of 2021.
 

This spring, we will have at least one monitoring route in each of the five boroughs. Learn more about our program, how you can protect and conserve birds in urban spaces, and how to get involved as a volunteer by signing up for one of our online information sessions. Attendance at an Information Session is required for new volunteers to be scheduled for monitoring this spring.

Photo: A Project Safe Flight volunteer documents a Yellow-rumped Warbler killed from colliding with glass. Credit: Winston Qin