Our resident and migratory birds are often framed as indicators of seasonal change, and for good reason - their breeding and migratory behaviors are strongly associated with the changing of the seasons and often serve as the most reliable indicators of our seasonal shifts. This reliability does not necessarily translate to population stability, however, and recent studies have indicated losses of approximately 3 billion birds since the 1970s. Given the many ecosystem services that birds provide (including insect control, pollination, seed dispersal, and many more), there is an urgent need to monitor our bird communities and, when possible, manage habitat to prevent or reverse these declines.
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To address monitoring and management needs related to our bird communities, Cleveland Metroparks Natural Resources staff and volunteers, in collaboration with Michigan State University initiated the Breeding Bird Survey program (BBS) in 2017 (Figure 1). Selected sites were surveyed between June and July to document bird species presence.
Figure 1: Natural Resource staff member Jennifer Brumfield leads a group of park visitors in a birdwatching event.
While many land management entities use BBS methodologies to assess their bird communities, our BBS program is unique in that selected sites overlapped with ongoing Plant Community Assessment Program (PCAP) vegetation surveys and Focus on Wildlife (FOW) camera-trapping surveys. By aligning BBS sites with other ongoing monitoring programs, we had the unique opportunity to assess how our bird communities associate with different vegetation community types parkwide.
Figure 2: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) locations indicated by blue dots, with white outlines indicating Cleveland Metroparks boundaries. Background colors indicate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) land cover classifications.
The baseline results of this project documents vegetation and landscape associations with >100 species of breeding birds within our parks (see publication listed below). There is a stronger relationship between the park’s overall breeding bird community and local vegetation community characteristics than with human development, suggesting that sensitive breeding bird communities would likely be responsive to vegetation management activities. However, many bird species that migrate from the neotropics are negatively associated with human development and have particularly specialized habitat requirements. Some notable examples - such as the Acadian Flycatcher and Hooded Warbler - require intact forest habitats and may serve as indicators of forest habitat quality (Figure 3).
Figure 3: On left, two forest-reliant tropical migrants: the Acadian Flycatcher (far left) and Hooded Warbler (center left). On the right, an example of an intact forest area that may be used by these two species.
Cleveland Metroparks is using this work to inform conservation and management across our parks. As one component, we have been working to make predictions of breeding habitat use for every bird species previously documented by these surveys. These predictions allow park staff to identify habitat areas that might support sensitive breeding bird communities and adjust management plans and actions accordingly. Overall, by leveraging the outcomes of this project to better prioritize, manage, and protect sensitive bird communities across our parks, we are ensuring that our avian communities remain viable and resilient to current and future changes in habitat.
Research Publications:
(names in bold are current or past Cleveland Metroparks staff)
Byer, Nathan W., Remington J. Moll, Timothy J. Krynak, Erik E. Shaffer, Jen L. Brumfield, John E. Reinier, Sarah R. Eysenbach, Jonathon D. Cepek, and Constance E. Hausman. 2025. Breeding bird sensitivity to urban habitat quality is multi-scale and strongly dependent on migratory behavior. Ecological Applications 35:e3087. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3087
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Birds face many challenges and it is estimated that 2.9 billion birds have been lost from North American since 1970. Collisions with buildings are a cause of bird injury and fatality during migration, and it is estimated that more than a billion birds die each year in the United States from collisions with buildings due to lighting and reflective glass (especially adjacent to green space). Every spring and fall, millions of birds migrate through Ohio, traveling between their breeding and overwintering grounds. During these migrations, birds are injured because of accidental collisions.
Lights Out is a national program dedicated to reducing the number of collision-related injury and mortality events by working with community partners to minimize the negative impacts of artificial light at night and reflective glass on transient migratory birds. The Ohio Lights Out chapter includes a network of city programs coordinated by the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative aimed at making urban landscapes safer for migratory birds. In our area, Lights Out Cleveland is a partnership between Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative and Lake Erie Nature & Science Center (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Matt Shumar with Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative and Tim Jasinski with Lake Erie Nature & Science Center examine an injured bird.
Cleveland is a critical location for millions of migratory birds because it serves as a vital resting and refueling stop during migration across Lake Erie. However, the urban landscape with lighted buildings and reflective glass affects these birds. This is also why green space like Cleveland Metroparks’s Wendy Park, Edgewater, Euclid Beach and Huntington Reservation are so important and provide vital habitat along the Lakefront.
Lights Out Cleveland was established in 2017. During every spring and fall migration season volunteers collect birds and bats that have collided with buildings. These birds and bats provide important scientific information which allows researchers to better understand patterns of collision, injury and mortality. The goal is to summarize important findings and provide recommendations that assist local building owners with ways to prevent bird collisions in the future.
Some potential management options include:
- Make glass visible by using bird safe glass or applying visible window treatments.
- Consider the effects of attractants next to glass. This includes not only outdoor plants or landscaping that draw birds closer to windows but also removing indoor plants near windows that may attract flying birds into glass.
- During peak migration seasons, turn off unnecessary exterior lights and close curtains or blinds at night to prevent interior light from disorienting migrating birds.
- Use downward-shielded outdoor lighting with motion sensors to minimize skyward light spill.
Lights Out Cleveland is an innovative program for bird conservation, as it focuses on affecting positive change in an urban landscape to significantly reduce bird collisions during migration.
Cleveland Metroparks volunteers assist Lights Out Cleveland in a community science project to:
- Collect birds that have collided with glass
- Gather information about factors contributing to these collisions
If you would like to learn more about being a Cleveland Metroparks volunteer and helping with Lights Out Cleveland follow the link under Ongoing Volunteers. Volunteer | Cleveland Metroparks
Birds collected through the Lights Out Cleveland program are brought to our partners at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center where information about each bird is recorded (Figure 2). Lake Erie Nature & Science Center’s wildlife rehabilitation facility evaluates live birds and rehabilitates injured birds that can be released back into the wild.
Figure 2. Rehabilitated American woodcock that collided with a building.