Bang,
Bonk, What Was That?
Judi Manning
Windows, especially during migration, can be deadly to a number
of our flying visitors and year-round residents. Birds cannot
perceive the glass as a barrier. It is most dangerous when the
birds can see through a house from front to back ¾ it looks like
a passage way to them. A very reflective window is also
dangerous. When birds encounter either of these, they try to fly
through the glass into daylight or into the vegetation reflected
by the glass.
Some fly into a window in normal flight. Some in an attempt to
escape a predator. Some may be involved in a chase, “under
the influence of alcohol” after eating fermented berries, or
disoriented by unusual weather or lightening. Hawks and ruffed
grouse are at risk because of their habit of flying through
restricted flight lanes in dense vegetation.
Here are some suggestions to reduce the frequency of
bird-window collisions:
Move feeders and bird baths to within one to two feet of a window so the birds do not have as much speed.
Alter the appearance of windows.
Cover the surface with objects less than 4” apart. Strips of cardboard, paper plates or mobiles - anything to make the window more visible will help.
Soap a window to camouflage it.
Stretch thin nylon or plastic netting
(used to guard fruit trees and berry bushes) over your
windows 6” from the panes. It will not obstruct too
much of your view. The net pattern breaks up the light as
it hits
the window. Birds will bounce off the netting if they hit
it.
Place 1” strips of dark garbage bags
in front of the windows to break up the reflection. These
will also
move in a slight breeze, keeping birds from flying into
the windows.
Cut crow-shaped silhouettes, using tin cans; paint then black and suspend from hanging brackets with wire in front of the window. These “crows” will swing in the breeze and seem to keep the birds from the windows.
Keep drapes drawn and lights off to
reduce the “see through passage” effect.
Ref Preventing Window Strikes,
BirdWatchers Digest, July/August, 1994.
Reflections, Save the Birds!, Panes of Glass Can Kill
Backyard Buddies”, Scott Shalaway, Tuebor Terra,
Mar/Apr. 1991, Pg. 48
