BirdSafeKC volunteers are absolutely critical to the project. The majority of volunteer work is done within the BirdStrikes survey arm of the project. Surveyors walk designated routes in the Kansas City metro area looking for bird carcasses and injured birds that have struck windows.
Once found, a number of data points are collected to include species and which part of the building the bird hit. Data is collected within the iNaturalist app and used to identify the most problematic windows on a particular building.
Seen here, a surveyor points to a White-throated Sparrow that has died due to colliding with a reflective portion of a downtown building.
BirdSafeKC coordinators then attempt to partner with the building owner to treat the windows that are most dangerous to birds. Project volunteers often assist in that partnership by having acted as ambassadors throughout the survey seasons.
Before you can start volunteering, and to better understand the project, the below training video must be watched.
Please contact us if you are interested.