Project Safe Flight Georgia Studies Bird-Building Collisions Across the State

This fall, Birds Georgia continues its ninth year of Project Safe Flight Georgia, a project to study bird-building collisions across the state. Since the program began in 2015, volunteers have collected data from more than 4,400 birds representing 137 different species that perished after colliding with buildings. Last year, Project Safe Flight was extended to coastal Georgia with volunteers patrolling routes in Savannah and Brunswick as well as continuing routes in metro Atlanta.

In spring 2024, Cedar Waxwings were the most commonly found species, followed by Ovenbird, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Mourning Dove, Northern Mockingbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Eastern Towhee, and American Woodcock round out the 10 most commonly collected species by Project Safe Flight volunteers.

The top 10 species collected over the course of Project Safe Flight are: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Tennessee Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Ovenbird, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Common Yellowthroat, and Red-eyed Vireo (in descending order).

In general, Atlanta sees fewer collisions in the springtime, as birds take other migratory paths on their way to their breeding grounds. However, we expect to see an increase in collisions in the fall months, as returning migrants and their newly-fledged young take to the skies and head southwards. Atlanta is noted as the fourth deadliest city for birds in the fall, and ninth in the spring, according to a study by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 

There are a number of ways you can help:

• Volunteers are always needed for our Project Safe Flight Patrols, in Atlanta, Dunwoody, Savannah, and Brunswick. You can learn more on our Project Safe Flight website.
• Learn how to make your home safer for migrating birds on our Project Safe Flight website. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for resources.)
• Turn Out the Lights for Birds, during fall and spring migratory periods. You can take the Lights Out Pledge or sign up to receive alerts on nights of peak migration on our Lights Out Georgia page. 
• Learn more or view maps of the nightly collision forecast on our Collision Resources page. 
• Can’t find the time to commit to volunteering with us? You can still contribute valuable data. If you find a dead or injured bird you suspect may have collided with a building, you can make an important contribution to Project Safe Flight by reporting it through d-Bird.