Wildbirds at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

By James Ed. Ducey

The campus settings of UNL are an attraction to migratory wild birds that use landscaping with a variety of natural shelter, grounds to forage and for some seasonal residents, sites to nest.

During the recent weeks various studies have been undertaken to get acquainted with the wild birds, especially on City Campus. Efforts have included informal surveys, and a discovery of threats present all about the built environment.

Building Hazards

Prominent building walls and features of the campus settings are a deadly hazard to avian visitors and residents.

A Red-headed Woodpecker skin from 1909 was found because it struck a window on city campus. A male Gray-cheeked thrush killed in a 1915 collision was denoted as a window strike at the library building, now Architecture Hall. Bird collisions with campus buildings have been an ongoing occurrence, with nearly a century of strike history. Bird research skins have been retrieved by staff and students on City Campus, starting in 1969, and then each year since 1987. There are now nearly 750 specimen records - from throughout the year - of birds that have hit buildings on city and east campus. A greater mortality occurs during spring in April-May and during autumn of mid-September to early November.

The danger is glass, a reflective surface that will confuse birds navigating by sight, and will provide a false scene for a bird in flight. Night lighting can also create miscues for flying birds.

Building window collisions are estimated to take from 97 to 970 million birds per year (2002 FWS estimate)

Dangerous situations - low-level passageways in restricted corridors, reflective glass, inside trees or plants that can be deceiving, lighting practices - throughout the campus, provide opportunities for campus-wide improvements.

Birds are such a distinctive and essential part of our natural scene, they deserve an attention to matters that revise building features, and reduce threats on campus.

Wildbirds Mortality

Campus bird/building collisions occur regularly and have been consistently documented. Instances have been observed but not recorded as a specimen, so additional occurrences readily increase the extent of strikes. Injured or dead bird carcasses also may be taken by any number of feral cats, precluding the chance of collection. Dead birds found by landscaping staff go into the trash.

Yellow markers indicate the site of known window strike mortality of wild birds.

Prominent locales with numerous bird-strikes, and where specimens have been collected, include:

1) Cather-Pound-Neihardt passageway (221 specimens, 1969-2003; plus April 2007 record)

2) Sheldon Art Gallery - east or west side (141 specimens, 1969-2003); construction finished in spring 1963

3) Oldfather Hall links to Bessey Hall and Burnett Hall (133 specimens, 1971-2007); Oldfather opened October 1969

4) Architecture Hall link (45 specimens, 1993-2003); construction finished in 1987

5) Love Library Link corners (21 specimens, 1992-2002, 2007); link added when north addition completed in 1974

6) Behlen Laboratory (17 specimens, 1992-2002); shown in the lab entrance, and the entry for a recent built sublevel facility

Other buildings indicated by found carcasses include: 17th and R Parking Garage, south end of west side; Manter Hall, lower levels; Kimball Hall entry; Morrill Hall south atrium; College of Business Administration north doors; Memorial Stadium, west side; Nebraska Hall link; Othmer Hall, west and south side; Wick Alumni Center, northwest corner, and north side; Lied Center, northeast corner; and, Westbrook Music Building, northeast corner and east side. There may be additional sites to consider, but where no records are extant.

East campus buildings with known window hits are C.Y. Thompson Library, Plant Science, and the Law library.

With campus improvements ongoing, additional conditions are being created that can be a hazard for our bird neighbors. The new dark-glass walls of the entry at north Behlen Laboratory may be a danger. There is the Hawk Center Passageway of reflective glass to consider. The under construction quilt center – apparently a "green design" - and virology building feature prominent glass areas. Discussions of a passageway for a new student cultural center indicate the potential for another danger spot for birds in flight. New buildings should also be "bird-safe."

More than 90 types of birds are known to occur at City Campus. Most are species noted through window-hit research specimens at the University of Nebraska State Museum:

Lincoln's Sparrow ~ 62 Orange-crowned Warbler ~ 51 Dark-eyed Junco ~ 50 White-throated Sparrow ~ 48 American Robin ~ 38 Clay-colored Sparrow ~ 29 Common Grackle ~ 28 Nashville Warbler ~ 27 Swainson's Thrush ~ 24 Gray Catbird ~ 23 Brown Thrasher ~ 23 Common Yellowthroat ~ 22 Song Sparrow ~ 20 Tennessee Warbler ~ 20 House Wren ~ 18 Brown Creeper ~ 14 Ovenbird ~ 14 Black-and-white Warbler ~ 13 Rose-breasted Grosbeak ~ 12 Swamp Sparrow ~ 12 Mourning Dove ~ 11 Mourning Warbler ~ 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ~ 10 Red-eyed Vireo ~ 9 Wilson's Warbler ~ 8 Harris's Sparrow ~ 7 Northern Cardinal ~ 7 Pine Siskin ~ 6 Yellow Warbler ~ 6 Hermit Thrush ~ 5 Field Sparrow ~ 5 Blue Jay ~ 4 Least Flycatcher ~ 4 European Starling ~ 4 (not protected by MBTA) Grasshopper Sparrow ~ 4 Indigo Bunting ~ 4 Warbling Vireo ~ 4 Northern Flicker ~ 4 American Redstart ~ 3 White-crowned Sparrow ~ 3 Chipping Sparrow ~ 3 Spotted Towhee ~ 3 Fox Sparrow ~ 3 House Sparrow ~ 3 (not protected by MBTA) Marsh Wren ~ 3 Yellow-rumped Warbler ~ 3

Chestnut-sided Warbler ~ 2 Belted Kingfisher ~ 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker ~ 2 Blue-headed Vireo ~ 2 Magnolia Warbler ~ 2 Canada Warbler ~ 2 Cape May Warbler ~ 2 Chimney Swift ~ 2 Common Nighthawk ~ 2 Gray-cheeked Thrush ~ 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch ~ 2 Rock Pigeon ~ 2 (not protected by MBTA) Sedge Wren ~ 2 American Goldfinch ~ 2 Northern Waterthrush ~ 2 Blackpoll Warbler ~ 1 Tufted Titmouse ~ 1 Yellow-breasted Chat ~ 1 American Woodcock ~ 1 Baltimore Oriole ~ 1 Barn Swallow ~ 1 Bay-breasted Warbler ~ 1 Red-tailed Hawk ~ 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo ~ 1 (East campus) Black-billed Cuckoo ~ 1 Wood Thrush ~ 1 Black-throated Green Warbler ~ 1 MacGillivray's Warbler ~ 1 Cedar Waxwing ~ 1 Veery ~ 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ 1 White-breasted Nuthatch ~ 1 Golden-winged Warbler ~ 1 Red-headed Woodpecker ~ 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk ~ 1 Le Conte's Sparrow ~ 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler ~ 1

There are additional records of window strike mortality in a Life Sciences collection. This information would not be provided despite phone calls and email contacts.

Other species seen on or about City Campus are American Crow, American Kestrel, Brown-headed Cowbird, Canada Goose, Double-crested Cormorant, Downy Woodpecker, Great Blue Heron, Greater White-fronted Goose, Herring Gull, House Finch, Killdeer, Mallard and Turkey Vulture.

Overall, about 35 species have been noted in a lively condition about city campus in the various weeks since February 2007.

There are about 22 species noted for east campus, mostly from sightings, with very little information available on the overall species diversity.

A bird killed in a collision with a building is covered by the taking provision of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), enacted in 1917. An representative of the Fish and wildlife Service discussed this topic with University officials in 2006. Reference: Windows of Death: a Look at Bird Strikes. February 1997. University of Nebraska State Museum, Museum Notes No. 95. Four pages. Most of the information on the location of bird strikes is from research specimens saved at the University of Nebraska State Museum. Their assistance is greatly appreciated.

Birds of April 21-22 Weekend

An intensive look about was done Saturday morning. Another quick look in the evening added the Mallard and Clay-colored Sparrow. The Whip-poor-will was flushed from southwest of Manter and then a bit southward, then fly towards the west a bit, likely to roost again on the ground.

• American Goldfinch • American Robin - probably the most prominent species on campus • Blue Jay • Brown Thrasher - 3 males heard Sunday a.m. • Chimney Swift - pleasant overhead • Chipping Sparrow • Clay-colored Sparrow • Common Grackle - numerous near the Cushman Woods • Dark-eyed Junco - perhaps the last visitors • Double-crested Cormorant - flying above campus • Downy Woodpecker • European Starling • Field Sparrow - heard and seen in a small flock • House Finch

• House Sparrow - noisy and copulating at the 17th and R parking garage • House Wren - slights songs heard a couple of places • Killdeer - in the construction zone • Lincoln's Sparrow • Mallard - a lone drake in the relict creek • Mourning Dove • Northern Cardinal - vocal in the morning • Northern Flicker - north of the library • Orange-crowned Warbler - among the blooming trees • Rock Pigeon • Spotted Towhee - ground scratchers readily heard • Whip-poor-will - quite a surprising and nice observation • White-throated Sparrow - sweet whistlers • Yellow-rumped Warbler

With new additions, this makes 95 species that have been recorded on the campus grounds.