DISNEY CONSERVATION FUND HELPS GEORGIA AUDUBON’S PROJECT SAFE FLIGHT PROGRAM

Common Yellowthroat injured in building collision. Photo by Adam Betuel.

by Dottie Head, Director of Communications
 
Georgia Audubon has been awarded a grant by the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) for our work to reduce bird collisions with buildings through our Project Safe Flight and Lights Out Georgia programs. This is the third consecutive grant Georgia Audubon has received from the Disney Conservation Fund to support collision-reduction efforts.
 
“Georgia Audubon is delighted to again receive support from the Disney Conservation Fund for our Project Safe Flight and Lights Out Georgia programs,” says Jared Teutsch, Georgia Audubon executive director. “This grant will enable us to expand our work across the state and implement solutions that will reduce the number of birds killed by building collisions.”
 
Georgia Audubon will use grant monies to treat four additional buildings with bird-friendly window treatments, bringing the total number of buildings that have been retrofitted to prevent collisions to eleven. It will also help fund Georgia Audubon’s continued work with researchers at Colorado State University to develop a forecasting tool to help predict collision risk. Finally, grant funds will be used to treat birds injured in window collisions, to expand the Lights Out Georgia initiative, to educate and train the public about bird-building collisions, and to take steps towards introducing bird-friendly ordinances and legislation.
 
During its 25th anniversary year, the Disney Conservation Fund is proud to continue providing critical support to community-led conservation efforts globally. The fund has been supporting local efforts around the world aimed at saving wildlife, inspiring action and protecting the planet with more than $100 million distributed to nonprofit organizations since 1995.
 
Project Safe Flight Georgia is a conservation and engagement effort to understand the issue of bird-building collisions across the state. Project Safe Flight Georgia volunteers patrol selected routes during peak bird migration periods collecting birds that have died or have been injured after colliding with buildings. Since Project Safe Flight Georgia launched in 2015, more than 1,800 birds of 112 different species have been collected.
 
Current research estimates that between 365 million and 1 billion birds perish each year from colliding with buildings in the United States. Bright lights at night can disorient migrating birds causing them to crash into structures or “trap” them in beams of light leading to exhaustion. Birds also struggle with reflective surfaces during the day as they stop and feed or rest. Shiny glass exteriors and reflections of trees and shrubs close to buildings can all be deadly to birds who are unable to determine reflections from actual flyways.
 
DCF grant recipients are selected based on their efforts to implement comprehensive community wildlife conservation programs, stabilize and increase populations of at-risk animals and engage communities in conservation in critical ecosystems around the world.
 
For information on Disney’s commitment to conserve nature and a complete list of grant recipients, visit www.disney.com/conservation.
 
 
About Georgia Audubon: Georgia Audubon is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement.

---