Birds and glass (again)

[nightshade]

I have just had another bird (probably spooked by the local Kestrel or Sparrowhawk) a young starling crash to its death on the patio door despite silouettes and the blinds on the opposite window(vertical) being half closed .
Are there records for this type of bird fatality? how many people on this site have this upsetting experience?

[Imaginos]

Only ever had this once, back in Bath-a female Redstart! Still not seen a live one anywhere near the Bath area. A friend at university in Aberystwyth once had a woodcock fly into his 4th floor room.

[life through a lens]

I had a couple of blue tits meet their maker in that way on a window at my old house and severla more left dazed and confused. Eventually realised it was probably down to the walls in the room being a sky blue colour and after changing it never happened again (though could be coincidence).

Also had a pidgeon commit hari-kari on a window at work. Scared the life out of the person sat next to the window (never seen someone jump so high !!). Never worked out why it happened, they are very large mirrored windows so must have seen it(self) coming !!!

Olly

[wildone]

A few years ago I had a young Sparrowhawk and a Starling hit the French Window. The Sparrowhawk broke it's neck and was immediately killed but the Starling damaged itself so badly that I had to dispatch it. I had seen them go over, the Sparrowhawk chasing the Starling but they turned around and came back over the neighbour's flat roof straight into my window.

[henrya]

I get several thumps a year on my sittingroom window (and that's just when I'm home to hear them) but few fatalities. I see the occasional powder imprint as well. I believe someone at the English Nature offices in central Peterborough does a daily patrol and has found a variety of casualties, including one rare species.

henry

[John]

Thankfully the odd window hits we have had haven't resulted in any fatalaties. We had a pigeon hit our office window yesterday and frightened the life out of me but as far as I can recall that was the only work window hit I have experienced.

I wonder what is the most rare bird that has hit a window. I know of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak that hit a window last week in Holme, Norfolk but thankfully it was rescued into care and released the next day.

John

[henrya]

The Peterborough bird was a Pallas's warbler - don't know how that stands in the rarity charts. The same windows have claimed ten Goldcrests (in one month), three Woodcock, a Kingfisher and a Firecrest. Prtesumably the only reason that these birds have been recorded is that the building is the office of someone with sufficient expertise to identify the corpses. I wonder how many other birds come to grief against glass sided offices without being noticed?

henrya

[nightshade]

I found this one of many http://magazine.audubon.org/features0403/alert.html

[Barbara]

Wev'e had the odd bump, but thankfully no fatalities, not that I know of anyway.

[Ollie]

I'm not suggesting for one minute that anyone does this, but we have diamond leaded windows in our house and we never get any bird hits on them as obviosly they are plain to see. That's not the reason we had them put in it was for aesthetic reasons.
Ollie