The Sight of Silence

Birds make so many beautiful sounds, but they make one sound all bird lovers hate to hear: thud!

View of CollidEscape applied to the outside of a window.
The side panes have screens between the birds and the
glass, so we didn't apply the film over them.

Birds cannot see the glass in house windows. All they see is an opening through which they think they can fly. That's when they make that thud, slamming into the window (often at full speed). At best, they receive a bump on the head, but a familiar and unpleasant sight often follows the thud. Many times, I've rushed outside after hearing that dreaded sound to find a bird laid out beneath the window it struck. Sometimes, the birds just knock themselves unconscious. Other times, they die from the collision. Either way, I feel horrible each time I hear that unmistakeable sound.

Fortunately, other people hate hearing birds thud into windows as much as I do. The American Bird Conservancy, which prioritizes bird protection, offers recommendations for products and strategies to limit bird collisions with windows. One of the products the organization recommends comes from a company called CollidEscape, which makes several types of film window covers that allow birds to see the solid surface of the glass.

Looking outside through the CollidEscape film.

Last month, my mom and I finally heard enough thuds and installed the white version of the CollidEscape film on the house windows. It was pretty easy to apply. Also, as you can see from the pictures, it provides a privacy screen from the outside while allowing people inside to see out. Additionally, the film helps keep the house cooler on hot days by tinting the windows. Most importantly, since the installation of CollidEscape, the birds have gone silent (at least, as far as their thudding is concerned).

From the looks of the early results, we have reason to hope the birds will now make only the sounds they're supposed to make.

Let's Go to the Tape

All too often, the sound of a bird hitting a window is the sound of death.

Birds see windows as open space to fly in, so they usually hit at full speed. Sometimes, they are just stunned, but many times, they die.

The American Bird Conservancy has been working on ways to reduce bird collisions with windows, and it is introducing BirdTape as one such option. BirdTape is applied to windows. It makes portions of the windows visible, deterring birds from thinking they can fly through. Check out the video below:



Considering an estimated 300 million or more birds die from window collisions each year, BirdTape is a welcome idea. For more information, click here.

If I never again hear the sound of a bird hitting a window, that would be music to my ears.

The Hunt for Green Ammunition

Last fall, I blogged about lead-free fishing and hunting equipment. With fall hunting season just around the corner, I thought I'd give another resource for finding such equipment.

The American Bird Conservancy has a list of manufacturers and retailers who make and sell lead-free ammunition. To see the list, click here.

Birds are heavily impacted by lead in ammunition. Some pick up birdshot with gravel, and those that scavenge eat it when they feed on an animal that has been shot by lead ammunition but never retrieved by the hunter. Exposure to lead weakens and sickens the birds, and most die painful deaths. For a story about the impact of lead ammunition, check out today's BirdNote podcast.

If you are a hunter, when you are buying ammunition this fall or any other time in the future, please consider choosing the lead-free options. As outdoorspeople, we can be leaders in bringing people together with the environment, but let's lead without the lead. Thanks.

Collision Prevention

The last entry provided information on birdhouses. This one deals with birds and houses (our houses), particularly the windows on our houses.

Birds often hit windows because they can't tell the difference between the glass surface and open air. If they're lucky, they fly off; some are severely dazed; and others don't survive. Any way you look at it though, this is an encounter with nature that you'd rather not have, and every time you hear that familiar bonk on the glass, you cringe a bit.

It's been tough to find ways of preventing these collisions, but today, I came across some interesting tips from the American Bird Conservancy. Check out the PDF of the info here. Along with the tips, the guide includes information on where to get the things you'll need to put the strategies to work. I haven't tried any of these yet, but the use of decorative Tempora paint definitely looks interesting.