I BIRD NYU
The NYU Urban Bird Project (I BIRD NYU) is an initiative that promotes collaboration between faculty, administrators, and students from across the University who are interested in advancing the interests of birds through scholarship, education,
and community.
2025 Green Grant Recipient
In July of 2025, the NYU Urban Bird Project received a grant from NYU's Office of Sustainability to undertake window collision data collection and discover which NYU buildings pose the greatest risk to migrating birds. The grant will also fund a collaborative art installation that will bring together the NYU community as they learn about and connect with birds.
Data collection began in September 2025. The art piece event will take place in the Spring.
Project Background
Every year, millions of birds migrate through NYC. According to NYC Bird Alliance, 90,000-230,000 migrating birds are killed in the City yearly because of collisions with glass windows. Birds play countless roles in healthy ecosystems—from seed-dispersal and fertilization to eco-friendly pest-control and pollination. Preserving their existence is a sustainability issue as well as an animal conservation one.
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As the responsible owners of dozens of buildings, NYU is perfectly positioned to take action and protect birds as they move through New York City.
Fall 2025 Window Collision Monitoring
On September 2, 2025, the NYU Urban Bird Project began its pilot window collision monitoring season. Nine undergraduate research assistants were hired, trained, and outfitted to collect data along two routes around NYU's Washington Square campus.
To see what NYU and other universities are doing to protect birds during migrations, you can now visit the Bird Safe Campuses platform.