Birds and Windows

[Remou]

An interview that may interest some people here.

Last month I drove up to Allentown, Pennsylvania to have lunch and spend the afternoon with Dr. Dan Klem, Professor of Biology, and Sarkis Acopian Professor of Ornithology and Conservation Biology in the Department of Biology at Muhlenberg College. Dr. Klem has spent decades studying the problem of birds colliding with glass windows, and is the leading expert on this grave threat to birds.

From: Birds and Glass: Interview with Dr. Dan Klem Urban Birdscapes

[Lindsay-c]

Thats is very interesting...

Pleased to see the issue is being looked into. I've seen a few birds fly into windows.
Once happened as I was sitting in my kitchen and heard an almighty thump on my window and immediately knew it was a bird so I rushed out into the garden to see if it was okay...
It was a female blackbird and was fine although a bit shaken and was looked a bit dissorientated.
I didn't approach it - thought it was best to leave it to itself while it calmed down. It flew away after a short while and I was thankful she was okay.

Wish I could say the same for the poor blue tit which I saw fly into a shop window died instantly. The other I didn't see properly but heard it and saw in my peripheral vision and that one was no where to be seen when I got outside...

[ESJ]

Where I live birds flying into windows are usually Collared Doves, and once a Sparrowhawk (no fatalities with any of these).
My son once brought me a dead Male Sparrowhawk that had flown into one of those clear glass sided bus shelters. Makes sense when you look at the 'hedge-hopping' hunting technique they use.

Steve.

[SheffieldLass]

I had a lot of bird strikes on my windows until recently. I dug up a small tree that was about 7 metres infront of a window with a through view to my garden on the other side. Behind that is a beech hedge (10m from the window) that is still there, and then forest which starts at 14m from the window with very mature forest trees. The bird strikes have ceased - and this is despite snow, with sun which gives very strong reflections of the hedge and woodland in the windows - conditions which seemed to result in the most bird strikes last winter. So there was something to do with the tree position that seemed to be problematic. The birds did like to sit in it, but then again they do sit in the hedge and the forest trees opposite.

But uv patterned glass that looks like clear glass to us, but which the birds can see, sounds like a good idea.

[Farplace]

A year or so ago I was called to rescue 2 birds that had hit a window near Durham city. A male blackbird, and the female sparrowhawk that was chasing him. Both were concussed, but made a full recovery and were later released - but not at the same time as each other!