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Birds
and Window Collisions
Contemporary homes and modern
office buildings often use insulated and reflective glass to
replace walls. These windows may be aesthetically pleasing to
humans, but often they are lethal to birds. Unfortunately,
many birds cannot distinguish the difference between the real
sky and a reflection of the sky in a window.
In the United States alone, it is
estimated that each year during migration, millions of birds
fly full tilt into windows and are seriously injured or
killed.
You can minimize these collisions by
breaking up the reflection on the outside of the window with a
window screen, flash tape and bird netting.
Life-size, animate
"scares" (plastic falcons, owls and balloons) and
falcon or owl silhouettes attached to windows with suction
cups are not effective deterrents.
Planting trees and installing
window awnings to block the sun from hitting the window may
eliminate some reflection.
Migration isn't the only time
homeowners have trouble with bird-window collisions. Birds may
hit your windows during breeding season, and in the winter
too.
During breeding season, male
cardinals, woodpeckers and mockingbirds may "fight"
their own reflections in windows (and car mirrors). They'll
stop banging into the window as the breeding season ends. You
can discourage them with screens and other barrier techniques.
Regardless of the season, birds can
fly into windows when they're frightened while visiting a
feeding station. Either move the feeders a considerable
distance away from the window, or immediately adjacent to the
window (so birds don't get up to flight speed before hitting
the window).
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