How to keep birds from flying into your windows and dying
If you are anything like me, it’s easy to find yourself standing at a window captivated by birds at a feeder or flying around among the trees. We have robins, cardinals, eastern bluebirds, blue jays, sparrows, woodpeckers and more.
But have you ever had a bird crash into one of those windows in your home? That, on the other hand, is far from captivating and is downright startling.
As many as a billion birds die each year across the country after striking glass windows, according to data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Those losses are not incidental, a researcher from the University of Cincinnati said.
That’s why for this week’s Scrub Hub, we are looking into such bird strikes: What is causing them? Have they gotten worse? What can you do about it?
Keep reading to know how you can protect birds around your home.
The window to stop bird strikes is now
Bird strike collisions is a very serious problem, according to Ronald Canterbury, an ornithologist at the University of Cincinnati who has been studying bird mortality for more than a decade. All types of birds fall victim: Warblers, sparrows, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and others die in huge numbers every year.
The research on which type of buildings are the biggest issue, however, is mixed. Some researchers think that homes kill more birds than businesses and skyscrapers purely because of the sheer number of houses in the U.S.
But Canterbury thinks that that has changed in recent decades. Cities have been exploding with tall buildings constructed largely of glass over the last 30 years, he said, and those structures can kill many birds in a single day or night.
In fact, more than a thousand migrating birds were killed in just one night last year after crashing into a single building in Chicago. You may remember that story; it made national news. Experts described it as a dangerous combination of timing (migration season), difficult weather and a lack of “bird-friendly” building measures.
Birds will strike the windows for a couple different reasons. The first is in the evenings when birds may be attracted to or distracted by lights on inside the building. The second scenario is during the day when birds fly toward what’s reflected in the window ― that could be trees, open sky, etc.
Most collisions occur on the lowest three floors of a building, where birds see the reflections of landscaping or tree branches in the glass, Canterbury said. That’s why homes can still present an issue for bird strikes, as well as apartments and condo buildings.
Some cities have launched “lights-out” campaigns to keep office buildings darker at night and thus not interfere with migrating birds. Federal regulators as well as nonprofit groups such as the National Audubon Society say there are a lot of other ways that people can help prevent the deadly impacts, whether on homes or larger buildings.
- Films featuring a visible pattern of squares or circles can be put on the glass to break up the reflections or illusion of open space.
- Poster paint can provide a simple and temporary solution during the spring and fall migration times. It then can wash away with water and vinegar.
- Parachute cords placed in a pattern on the exterior of windows can create a visual barrier.
- Custom-made glass with etched or frosted patterns provide more permanent solutions. Ultraviolet-patterned glass is invisible to humans but can be seen by birds.
“Basically, anything that disrupts the reflection of trees in the windows will work,” Canterbury said.
If a homeowner is having around three or more bird impacts a year, he recommends considering one of these methods to help birds steer clear.
The time to take action is now, Canterbury added. To lose so many birds in a preventable way can cause serious problems for not only the bird populations and species themselves, but also for insects, plants and the larger ecosystem. For example, birds help to eat insects such as mosquitos and spread seeds for trees and other plants to grow.
“In short, we have a global and national issue here, where immediate attention and robust efforts are needed before it is too late,” Canterbury said. “The window to act is short” (no pun intended).
If you have any more questions about bird strikes, wildlife or any other topic, please ask us. You can submit a question to the Scrub Hub through the Google form below.
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IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
