Bird Strike Season Starting

FARGO — Wildlife researchers are sounding the alarm on a phenomenon that’s killing birds on NDSU’s campus, and it could be happening where you live and work, too.

It’s bird strike, and it’s killed at least 60 birds on campus so far this season.

The  fall migration is just beginning, and that means many migratory species of birds are on the move through our region.

Bird strike happens when birds see the reflection of trees and landscape in windows and mistake them for open air.

NDSU researchers starting tracking the deaths on campus about five years ago, and say the number of bird strike deaths they’ve found have been steadily increasing since they started keeping track.

Annually, bird strike kills close to a billion birds per year in the U.S., according to one study.

And the bird population is generally on the decline, says Anuj Ghimire, an NDSU researcher.

He joined the Morning Show to talk about why one simple step you take with your windows can help protect birds from birdstrike and make their migration safer, plus what to do if you run across a bird stunned by bird strike.

For more information, and for a way to track this year’s fall migration: