Final Report – 6 January 2026
Assiniboine Park Conservancy is a non-profit entity that manages the Assiniboine Park and the Assiniboine Park Zoo for the benefit of Manitobans and the wildlife that live in these community assets. Within this organization, the Conservation and Research Department (CRD) sets priorities within a conservation strategy focused on science-based conservation programs that protect wild species. We are very grateful to the Manitoba Bluebird Fund Salzmann Songbird Fund for providing a second grant (2024 and 2025) that has helped us to mitigate another large set of windows against bird collisions at the Assiniboine Park Zoo. These projects fit within the Protecting Urban Biodiversity theme of our conservation strategy and our goal of having 80% of more of our windows mitigated by 2029.
Since 2013, the Conservation and Research team has been taking action to reduce the occurrence of bird collisions with windows on new and existing buildings across Assiniboine Park and Zoo and has encouraged our community to join us in these efforts by mitigating the windows of their homes. This has also included significant monitoring efforts, and the team has documented bird-window collisions by systematically surveying buildings through the spring and fall migration period (April-November) and providing veterinary care with assistance from veterinary staff at the Assiniboine Park Zoo for all injured birds found along designated routes. We have installed mitigation on more than 70 windows across buildings and structures in the Park and Zoo. The data collected throughout the 10+ years of collision surveying has informed decisions for further mitigation efforts, such as prioritizing windows identified as high-risk for mitigation as funding becomes available. Additionally, we have emphasized the importance of having mitigation built into several new buildings and exhibits (e.g., the Zoo’s wolf habitat, the Leaf). With these data-driven mitigation efforts, we have seen significant reductions in collision rates on mitigated high-risk windows.
The 2025 award allowed us to mitigate the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre (LIPBCC) in the Zoo’s Journey to Churchill exhibit. This project mitigated over 770 square feet of glass using full-coverage CollidEscape-style vinyl wrap. For this installation, we also collaborated with local artist Kal Barteski (Figure 1,2) to add Arctic animal line art. Barteski says she wanted to make a line drawing that celebrates the animals of the sub-Arctic: “Most of all, I wanted to illustrate with a simple, flowing line that we are all connected”.
Installation took place from July 7 – 9, 2025. The final project cost totalled $15,257.42 for materials, design, and installation. We are very appreciative of the Manitoba Bluebird Fund Salzmann Songbird Grant for the $5000.00 contribution to this project.
Figure 1. Contractors install decals with Kal Barteski’s artwork on the boardroom windows of the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre.
Figure 2. Interpretive gallery installation at Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre.
This new mitigation has already had a direct impact. From 2014 – 2024, the average collisions recorded at LIPBCC before mitigation was 7.8 per year (range: 1 – 15). Since installation was completed on July 9, 2025, we are happy to report that there have been zero detected collisions on the building. We will continue our daily monitoring protocol on the building in 2026 to monitor effectiveness.
Additionally, in 2025 we continued monitoring the Zoo main entrance windows which were mitigated in 2024 with the support of the Manitoba Bluebird Fund Salzmann Songbird Grant. We recorded zero collisions on the windows that were treated with the 2 x 2-inch white vinyl dot grid pattern.
Our communications effort to raise awareness and reduce bird collisions in 2025 included social media (on Facebook and Instagram), an interview on CBC Radio’s Up to Speed program, and a blog post on Assiniboine Park Conservancy’s website.
Report and photos provided by Stephen Petersen MSc PhD Director, Conservation and Research Chair, Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre Advisory Board Assiniboine Park Zoo – Assiniboine Park Conservancy.