Why a dirty window is beautiful
In your Dec. 9, 2016, edition, there was a picture where “A bird leaves its mark Thursday on the window of 360 Fitness.” I was very sad to see the photograph. I am a member of the Coeur d’Alene Audubon Society, and it was a reminder of the billion birds that die every year due to window strikes. According to the Washington Post, “As many as 988 million birds die annually in window collisions. Between 365 and 988 million birds die from crashing into windows in the United States each year, according to a new report. That may be as much as 10 percent of the estimated total bird population of the country.”
TEN PERCENT of the TOTAL BIRD POPULATION! And many of those deaths would be avoidable.
Window strikes are one of the top three human-related causes of bird deaths, along with cats and habitat destruction. Fifty-four to 76 percent of window collisions are fatal; stunned birds that fly away often die of hemorrhage out of our sight.
To birds, the glass windows are invisible, and sometimes worse than invisible. They can reflect trees or sky and look like a good place to fly, especially when frightened or evading an enemy. Or it can happen at nighttime when they are lured to their deaths by the lights.
Governmental agencies of Canada and the United States recognize this problem and have legislation to make new and existing buildings bird-friendly. Toronto’s Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines and New York’s Bird-Friendly Buildings Act require new and existing buildings be bird friendly effective Jan 1, 2012. The Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2011 calls for each public building constructed, acquired, or altered by the General Services Administration (GSA) to incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features.
Recent data shows that residential buildings (1-3 stories) account for 44 percent of window collision deaths in the US. Low-rise (4-11 stories) account for 56 percent. Fewer than 1 percent occur at high-rise buildings, but this is simply because there are so many more residential and low-rise buildings than high-rise. So, knowing this, there are actions you can take to deter bird strikes and deaths at your home or place of work:
- Relocate your feeders at least 30 feet away from the windows, or less than 3 feet (they can’t get up to lethal speed in the short distance).
- Cover the glass with a one-way transparent film that lets people see out, but makes the window appear opaque from the outside.
- Place interior blinds and keep them at a slight slant.
- Place decals or stickers on the window to break up reflections. These are most effective when spaced very closely — no more than about 3-4 inches between them. You can purchase decals made especially for this purpose that are within the ultraviolet spectrum that appear transparent to our eyes, but are visible to birds. (Our local Wild Birds Unlimited Store has decals.) Also effective is bird tape, which is more cost-effective for larger windows (visit ABCbirdtape.org).
- Stretch thin netting over the outside of the window or place ready-made strings over the window (see birdsavers.org).
- Plant trees or shrubs very near to and in front of windows, cutting down on reflections.
- Move interior houseplants away from windows where strikes are common.
- Let your windows stay dirty! They are more visible that way!
- Bright city lights confuse birds who migrate during the night by obscuring their navigational aids. Make sure your exterior light fixtures are well-shielded and are not producing brilliant glare.
We live in an area full of beautiful scenery and beautiful birds. Please do what you can to eliminate the possibility of bird deaths in your beautiful neighborhood.
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Midge Marcy-Brennan is president of the CDA Audubon Society.