Exploring how green roof features attract birds in the city of Madison and conducting a hypothetical intensive green roof design

Abstract With the development of urban systems, living in urban areas has become a global trend. The growing population, and the accompanying need for increased development, which brings with its problems such as flooding, decreased green space, fragmented habitats, the urban heat island effect, and air pollution. To help mitigate these problems and improve the urban environment, green technology is used to create roof gardens. These gardens benefit people by bringing them close to nature, and many can also provide habitat for birds. The purpose of this two-part study is to design bird-friendly green roofs for two proposed high-rise buildings which are part of a new downtown redevelopment project in the city of Madison, WI. The first part of the project includes a precedent study, in which I summarize available literature concerning green roof designs created to attract birds, and conduct a survey of the birds found on a the green roof garden located at Union South on the UW-Wisconsin Campus. To conduct the survey, I used a combination of checklists, maps and measuring tools to observe the number, species, and activities of the birds at each of the site’s behavior settings. I observed 8 different bird species, the most numerous of which were house sparrows. The results show that 1) a of combination design elements including a water feature, plant species providing food and shelter for birds, and structures such as handrails and fences, 2) adjacent areas that provide habitat, and 3) adjacent areas that provide leftover human food –such as an adjacent picnic area-- positively impact the birds on site; whereas people who move around close to the birds on site or bring dogs, keep the birds away.