BirdSafe - Safer Homes

Make your home safer for birds

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Nearly everyone has, at one time or another, heard a thump, gone out to investigate and found a stunned or dead bird beneath a window. Unfortunately, it seems that wherever birds and glass co-exist, collisions will occur.

Why don’t birds avoid windows? It has nothing to do with intelligence. People also need visual cues to avoid walking through clear glass. The difference is that birds simply don’t see glass the way we do. Instead they see the landscape or sky reflected in the glass and don’t realize that they’re not flying into open space.

Does this mean you should stop feeding birds in your backyard? Absolutely not, but there are steps you can take to make it less likely birds will hit your windows.

SAFER WINDOWS

Take a birds-eye view of your home from outside, looking for “killer windows.” Birds generally collide with one or only a few windows in a home, often those with large panes of glass in the vicinity of food or along escape routes. If there’s a window on the opposite side of the house it may create the illusion of a tunnel. And, if you see trees or sky reflected in a window, birds will, too, and think they’re safe.

Remember the “Rule of 3 or 30”-- Relocate bird feeders and birdbaths so they’re either within 3 feet of a window, or farther than 30 feet away. A bird that hits the window from less than 3 feet away won’t be going fast enough to harm itself. And from 30 feet away, a bird may be able to maneuver around a hazard. Hawks are known to chase birds into windows and pick them up after they collide. Take steps (below) to help birds see your windows and escape.

Break up the reflectivity of the most dangerous window(s). Decals on the exterior can be effective if you use enough of them to break up the reflection. Studies show that birds will attempt to fly through an area as small your hand. Decals with ultraviolet coating (that birds can see put people cannot) show promise and are less obtrusive than stardard “decals.” See www.windowalert.com. You can also consider not washing a problem window, spraying it with fake snow or draw crosses or streaks with a bar of soap or even dilute tempura paint.

Place mesh netting, fruit tree netting or a window screen across a frequently hit window. A bird that hits the screen or net will simply bounce off.

Hang objects in front of a window to deter birds. Lightweight, shiny things, such as compact disks, aluminum pie plates or strips of Mylar or ribbon hung on string or fishing line move in the wind and alert birds to the window.

Be creative. Anything you can devise that makes a window look less transparent or reflective will help save birds.

WHAT TO DO IF A BIRD HITS YOUR WINDOW

If the bird is alive but dazed, pick it up and place it in a paper bag or small box with a lid. Put the container in a dark, quiet place, away from pets and children, close the door and leave the bird alone for 20–30 minutes. If you hear it scratching around in the bag or box, it’s probably time to release it outdoors. If the bird is injured, please take it to a wildlife rehabilitator. In the Twin Cities, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville treats injured birds.