Toronto woman wins bird photographer of the year for photo of 4,000 dead birds [Video]

Thousands of dead birds, from kingfishers to blue jays, encircle a wild turkey to illustrate in one snapshot a mere fragment of how many die from colliding into glass windows – a death that can be easily prevented, the Torontonian photographer says.

This photograph, ‘When Worlds Collide,’ was captured by Patricia Homonylo. She is a conservation photojournalist who was just awarded the international title of bird photographer of the year for this piece.

The image beat out more than 23,000 photographs from across the world.

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The bodies of 4,000 birds who died by window collisions were collected over the span of just one year, from a few city blocks in Toronto and Mississauga, Homonylo said. Then, they were meticulously arranged by members of Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada for, what Homonylo called, “the bird layout.”

“The volunteers gather once a year in order to create this beautiful display. It’s a difficult time. It is a necessary time,” …