Alliance Keeping Birds Safe in Pittsburgh

Carnegie Museum of Natural History is leading the way on conserving Western Pennsylvania’s feathered residents and this is bringing Pittsburgh national recognition.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has brought together seven environmental organizations for a synergistic bird-conservation program known as the Allegheny Bird Conservation Alliance (ABCA). The participating groups are: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Allegheny Land Trust, National Aviary, Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, Humane Animal Rescue Wildlife Center, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and American Bird Conservancy.

This collaborative effort has made Pittsburgh an Urban Bird Treaty City, a designation from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for cities that bring together many partners to help preserve migratory birds. The designation recognizes a city for bird-friendly factors such as hazard reduction, citizen science and educational outreach. https://www.fws.gov/birds/grants/urban-bird-treaty.php

“Our efforts to make Pittsburgh a more livable city for birds have resulted in Pittsburgh being designated as an Urban Bird Treaty City exactly 100 years after the signing of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,” says Luke DeGroote, Avian Research Coordinator for the museum. “Carnegie Museum of Natural History recognizes how beneficial birds are to our environment, and the enjoyment they bring to our lives.”

Along with the museum, the participating groups recruited 122 volunteers to restore 2.4 acres of Dead Man’s Hollow Conservation Area in McKeesport by removing invasive species, and plant 387 native trees and shrubs. The groups also have provided native plants to 80 homeowners to help them improve their backyard habitats, and provided materials to reduce bird collisions with windows at 90 homes; they also provided and installed the window film at the Frick Environmental Center at Frick Park.

Matt Webb, Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator for the museum, coordinated volunteer efforts for BirdSafe Pittsburgh, a window-collision monitoring program; Since the inception of the program, 81 volunteers have found 1038 birds that ran into windows, 250 of which were alive and taken to the Humane Animal Rescue Wildlife Center.