A new report released this week by the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis details the bird mortality occurring as U.S. Bank Stadium during the 2016 fall migration and offers recommendations for action.

The report examines bird mortality and injury associated with the U.S. Bank Stadium complex in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the fall 2016 migration season. Based on findings, the report outlines implications for the collision study that will begin in 2017 and recommends specific immediate actions to reduce bird collisions at the stadium.

The stadium occupies 1.75 million square feet and contains approximately 200,000 square feet of highly reflective glass. Portions of the glass facades on the east and north walls of the stadium include deep ledges and an elevated patio that cannot be viewed from the stadium periphery. Intermittent patches of vegetation around the stadium range from rows
of immature trees on the northwest side of the stadium plaza to thick meadow and immature shrubs and trees on the north and east sides. An adjacent 4.6 acre park contains grasses and immature shrubs and trees that attract more birds into the vicinity of the building. Reflections of this vegetation on the stadium bring birds into the glass.6

Monitoring for avian victims of window collisions was conducted intermittently during the period of fall migration between August 14, 2016, and November 7, 2016. Due to stadium access restrictions and other limitations, monitors were not able to observe the stadium every day during the observation period. Monitoring was carried out primarily between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. In October, occasional monitoring was also done in early afternoon, generally between noon and 3 p.m.

Project monitors included members of three conservation groups: Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis, Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds, and Friends of Roberts Bird Sanctuary. Monitors worked under the direction of a former volunteer with Audubon Minnesota's Project BirdSafe, who walked a mapped route in downtown Minneapolis for more than eight years during spring and fall migration collecting data on birds that collided with buildings.


View the complete report at: http://audubonchapterofminneapolis.org/2017/02/bird-mortality-report-at-u-s-bank-stadium/