Collisions with windows in residential and commercial buildings kill on average more than 25 million birds in Canada each year–and the majority of collisions occur at houses.
You can help by placing bird feeders and bird baths at a safe distance from windows (within 1 m/3 ft of a window, so that a bird leaving the feeder can’t gain enough momentum to do harm if it strikes the window). Birds collide with glass because they either see through it or see a reflection in it – in either case, what they see can look like a clear flight path. You can prevent collisions by making windows visible to birds. Some options include adding window screens, making DIY Acopian Bird Savers, or applying markers or tape spaced in a 5 x 5 cm (2 x 2 in) grid pattern. Note that these solutions must be applied on the outside surface and provide high visual contrast to the glass in order to work.
Photo: Ellen Jakubowski
Turn off lights at night, especially during migration, and support “lights out” programs, bird-friendly design guidelines, or other initiatives to prevent collisions in your community.
For more information about reducing bird-window collisions, please visit FLAP.org and Feather Friendly. Note that if you choose to purchase a Feather Friendly DIY product and use the Promo Code BirdsCanada, Feather Friendly will make a donation to Birds Canada to support bird conservation.
