Keeping Windows Safe for Birds

Collisions with windows and other building glass are a significant source of injury and mortality for a wide variety of avian species. A 2014 study estimated that between 365 million to 988 million birds are killed each year after they collide with glass.

As humans continue to expand their own habitats, the impact on our wild neighbors increases. High-rise glass buildings in cities aren’t the only problems; residential houses, walkways, and bus shelters can cause problems for birds as well.

Each year, the Wildlife Center admits a variety of songbirds and raptors that crash into windows. While this occurs year-round, many window-strike patients are admitted in the fall and winter at the Wildlife Center.

IF YOU FIND A BIRD THAT HAS HIT A WINDOW

Birds that collide with windows and fall to the ground should receive medical attention after their collision. General advice for this wildlife issue used to be to give the bird a safe space in which to recover for about 30-60 minutes, but new studies suggest that even birds that can fly away after a window strike can suffer significant trauma.

Window strikes often occur when birds are flying an average speed of 15-20 miles per hour. Birds have weaker, lightweight skeletal systems that are designed to allow them to more easily fly, but their bones do not protect their internal organs as well. While some birds may be stunned and can recover within a short period, some birds may sustain intracranial hemorrhaging.  Additional studies have shown that a number of birds sustain corneal ulcers after their collision. These issues are difficult to diagnose with a quick glance, and birds may even be able to fly away with these injuries after a few minutes, only to go untreated and die later.

Birds that strike windows should be immediately placed in a shoebox or an unwaxed paper bag and taken to a veterinarian or permitted wildlife rehabilitator for assessment.

ASSESSING THE PROBLEM

Daytime Collisions. Birds have a difficult time seeing the glass, particularly if the glass is reflecting nearby sky or vegetation. If you have a glass window with which birds collide, step outside during the day and make a “bird’s eye view” assessment. Are birds seeing the reflected skyline, which makes it look like they can fly straight through the window? Are they seeing through the glass to indoor potted plants?

Nighttime collisions. Birds may also collide with windows at night; these window-strike victims are nocturnal migrants, which include a wide variety of songbird species. Many songbirds make their long-distance journeys by starlight – they depend on the night sky to orient them in their travels, and fly during a time when fewer predators are out. Artificial city lights interfere with these nighttime journeys and particularly disorient birds in “low ceiling” or foggy conditions. Floodlights and festival lighting can also impact these birds.

Seasonal Disturbances. Some birds may also fly into windows during springtime nesting; these individual birds exhibit territorial behaviors and attack their own reflection in windows and car mirrors. This behavior is typically most annoying to the homeowner, but typically is not a threat to the bird’s survival, unlike a higher speed collision with an unseen window.

MAKING CHANGES

After assessing the problem, there are a number of steps homeowners can take to prevent bird/window-collisions. The most effective changes should be made to the outside of problematic windows; these products and solutions can prevent daytime collisions as well as seasonal “attacks” by territorial songbirds.

  • CollidEscape film. This film is applied to the outside of a window and is about 80% transparent. Homeowners can see out, but it appears opaque to birds. It’s considered 99% effective for solving bird/window collisions. Order Here

  • Tape strips. These translucent vertical or horizontal tape strips should be appropriately spaced (depending on pattern) on the exterior of the window. They typically last four years after applied.

  • Rope Curtains. These are considered highly effective and can be purchased or crafted by the homeowner. 

  • Ultraviolet Decals. Decals should be placed closely together so that the spaces between are no more than four inches by two inches high. Decals are invisible to people but their ultraviolet colors are seen by birds. These are considered effective, though not as highly effective as the above suggestions.

  • Feather Friendly Adhesive Dots. These marker patterns are made on the exterior of a window and can be professionally installed or applied by the homeowner.

  • Sun shades or awnings can eliminate or minimize reflection and transparency.

  • Soap or tempera paint patterns on the outsides of windows can be effective and can be applied in a variety of stencils or patterns.

  • Window screens or light nets can be applied at least two to three inches from the window and may act as a vertical trampoline for birds.

  • If basement or shed windows are problematic but not used for viewing, they can simply be whitewashed. 

Courtesy of: The Wildlife Center of Virginia