“Thooonnggg!” Oh how I hate when I hear that sound at our house – I know a bird has hit a window and the prognosis will not be good. I’ve noticed that our “regulars” have come to know what the windows are but to the migrants either in fall or spring or some of the juveniles, they may look at the window and see blue sky.
David Sibley wrote a great article in Bird Watchers Digest in 2008 on things we can do to help stop birds from hitting our windows.
In it, he writes, “research has shown that at least half of the birds that fly away from window collisions die soon afterward from brain injuries. (Despite what most people think, birds involved in window collisions rarely break their necks.)”
So what can you do? Here’s a quick list from the article but you can read the whole thing in David’s words here.
1) Position bird feeders to be either 2 feet or closer to the windows or move them to be 30 feet away
2) Break up the reflection on the window (soap works as does not washing your windows)
3) Install window panes – this creates smaller openings that many birds won’t fly through although many still will
4) Install exterior screens or netting that break up the reflection
David has other interesting things that he’s tried (including using a highlighter) and shares them in this article. It’s definitely worth a read.