Preventable Bird-Window Collision Kills Peregrine Fledgling

Peregrine Falcon Nestling

by Patti Loesche, President, Urban Raptor Conservancy & Joshua Morris, Conservation Director, Birds Connect Seattle

Urban Raptor Conservancy and Birds Connect Seattle are heartbroken to share news of the death of one of the 1201 Third Avenue peregrine falcon fledglings due to a bird-window collision in downtown Seattle.

The young female falcon had only begun flying approximately 24 hours earlier when she collided with a fifth-story balcony window at a nearby building. Tragically, she did not die immediately. Building occupants reported the injured raptor to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and wildlife rehabilitators beginning on Wednesday, May 27. Urban Raptor Conservancy did not receive the report and respond until Thursday, May 28. By then, she was dead.

This loss is deeply felt by the many people at Wright Runstad, 1201 Tower, and Urban Raptor Conservancy, who dedicated time and care to monitoring and supporting the falcons throughout the nesting season, as well as the much larger community who followed the birds’ remarkable growth and development through the 1201 falcon camera.

Sadly, this tragedy was predictable. Window collisions are among the leading human-caused sources of bird mortality. Birds Connect Seattle, through the Seattle Bird Collision Monitoring Project, estimates that approximately 80,000 birds are killed annually by residential windows in Seattle alone. Many more die at commercial and institutional buildings like the one involved in this collision.

The good news is that bird-window collisions are preventable. Cities can adopt bird-safe building standards requiring new construction and major renovations to incorporate bird-friendly design. The University of Washington adopted bird-friendly campus design standards in 2024, and Vancouver’s city council recently approved a Green Building Program that includes bird-safe building design considerations. Seattle should act urgently and follow suit.

We must also address the significant threat posed by existing buildings. Retrofitting current structures with proven bird-collision deterrents can dramatically reduce bird deaths and make our city safer for wildlife. For example, the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park recently retrofitted a portion of its windows, and early pre- and post-monitoring data suggest bird collisions have been reduced by 40–60%.

Urban Raptor Conservancy and Birds Connect Seattle are currently in communication with facilities managers at the site of this specific collision, who are eager to support efforts to prevent future deaths.

Community members are invited to pay their respects to this beautiful young falcon, whose body will be on view for the public, at the Birds Connect Seattle office (616 Olive Way) on Saturday, May 30, from 10am to 12:00 pm. Representatives from the Urban Raptor Conservancy and Birds Connect Seattle will be on hand to answer questions about urban raptors and window collisions.

TAKE ACTION 

Contact your elected officials and urge them to adopt bird-safe building standards in Seattle: It’s Time for Bird-Safe Cities 

LEARN 

Learn how to make the windows at your home safer for birds: Preventing Bird-Window Collisions – Birds Connect Seattle 

VISIT 

Community members are invited to pay their respects to this beautiful young falcon, whose body will be on view for the public, at the Birds Connect Seattle office on Saturday, May 30, from 10am to 12pm. Representatives from the Urban Raptor Conservancy and Birds Connect Seattle will be on hand to answer questions about urban raptors and window collisions.