To the Editor:
Northern Michigan University is located on the Mississippi Migration Flyway, an essential pathway millions of birds fly to get to their breeding grounds, or to take residency in our region. Migration happens in the spring and fall every year, when around 400 different species of birds pass through the Upper Peninsula because of our geographic location. Around 3.5 billion birds migrate yearly, a taxing process that leads to the death of many birds, without the added obstacle of structures to navigate, leaving them vulnerable to hitting windows and walls.
Tragically, it is estimated that over 1 billion birds die yearly due to window and wall collisions. This is why it is crucial that NMU continues to add appropriate infrastructure and modifications to the existing infrastructure to make the lowest impact possible on these vulnerable birds. Currently, around 70 campuses around the world are working together to protect birds from campus collisions. They do this by implementing bird-safe infrastructure, adding decals to windows, going “lights out” during migration, and planting native species within their landscaping.
Currently, it is unknown how many bird deaths occur on NMU’s Campus, which is essential information to have while working toward making the campus bird safe. The Northern Parulas, a bird club on campus, is currently conducting a recurring survey every morning looking for potential bird strikes on campus. With this information, we will know what areas of campus cause the most risk to the birds, with the goal of making NMU, campus-wide, Bird Safe.
I feel we have the opportunity and the responsibility to protect these feathered creatures because we are the ones imposing on them. Although NMU might not cause a lot of bird deaths compared to other campuses, bringing awareness to the Bird Safe Campus movement is imperative if we want to improve our declining bird populations. I urge students, university leaders, and community members to support making NMU a Bird Safe Campus and work toward lessening deaths on campus and in the world.
Sincerely,
Maddie Indermuehle
