Window Strikes Claim Birds
By Lisa Reed, GEAS Board Member
On the night of October 4th, more than 960 migrating birds died from colliding with a glass paneled building in Chicago, Illinois. Many more birds died from window collisions throughout Chicago that night, but the particular building’s reflective glass and bright lighting proved a deadly combination for migrating birds.
In the United States alone, it is estimated that 599 million to one billion birds can die in a year due to window collisions.
Now for some good news. Your Golden Eagle Audubon chapter (GEAS) is helping to address the problem of bird strikes on commercial buildings. When we learned that the City of Boise was rewriting its zoning codes, GEAS provided research-based data, recommendations, and yes, a little pleading for the prevention of window collisions. Boise’s new Modern City Zoning Codes now require new commercial buildings to use preventative bird-friendly materials on at least 90% of the windows. The new zoning codes also include restrictions on night lighting, which will help migrating birds from becoming disoriented, as happened in Chicago.
Image from “Free Images” https://www.freeimages.com/photo/glass-reflection-ii-1496538
What You Can Do At Home
Because almost half of bird collisions occur with home windows, GEAS has been helping homeowners to prevent bird collisions through classes and public displays. If you weren’t able to attend our class “Stop The Thunk” with the American Bird Conservancy, you can find it on GEAS’ YouTube Channel HERE. There are easy and inexpensive ways to help prevent bird collisions!
(Image from Feather Friendly visual markers https://www.featherfriendly.com/)
Luckily not all window strikes are fatal. The Ruth Melichar Bird Center, part of Animals in Distress Association, provides the following guidance:
Leave the bird where you found it if the bird is standing or sitting, if there are no known predators in the area, including cats, and the weather won’t cause additional stress. If predators or weather are an issue, place the bird in a towel lined cardboard box, no food or water, and bring the bird inside and keep it in a dark, quiet place.
In either scenario, after 2-3 hours check on the bird. If it has remained outside, approach the bird to see if it will fly. If you’ve had the bird in a box, take it outside and open the box in a safe place.
If the bird doesn’t fly away or if a more severe injury is present when you find the bird, call the Ruth Melichar Bird Center at (208) 338-0897. The center’s winter hours are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. each day and 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. each day the rest of the year.