Birds & Conservation >

Coopers Hawk window collision outline © Joe Levens

Nearly everyone has, at one time or another, heard a thump, gone out to investigate and found a stunned or dead bird beneath a window. Put a flying bird up against a sheet of glass and the glass wins every time. Why don’t birds avoid windows? Apparently they see the landscape reflected in the glass and don’t realize that they’re not flying into open space. When a hawk is around sometimes birds hit windows as they try to escape.

Does this mean you should stop feeding birds in your backyard? Absolutely not, but there are steps you can take to make it less likely birds will hit your windows.

Safer windows:

Take a birds-eye view of your home from outside, looking for “killer windows.” Birds generally collide with one or only a few windows in a home, often those with large panes of glass in the vicinity of food or along escape routes. If there’s a window on the opposite side of the house it may create the illusion of a tunnel. And, if you see trees or sky reflected in a window, birds will, too, and think they’re safe.

Remember the ‘Rule of 3 or 30’: Relocate bird feeders and birdbath so they’re either within 3 ft. of a window, or farther than 30 feet away. A bird that hits the window from less than 3 ft. away won’t be going fast enough to harm itself. And from 30 ft. away, a bird usually can maneuver its way around a hazard.

Break up the reflectivity of the most dangerous window(s). Those hawk decals can be effective if you use enough of them to break up the reflection. Consider not washing a problem window, spray it with fake snow or draw crosses or streaks with a bar of soap.

Place mesh netting, fruit tree netting or a window screen across a frequently hit window. A bird that hits the screen or net will simply bounce off.

Hang objects in front of a window to deter birds. Lightweight, shiny things, such as compact disks, aluminum pie plates or strips of Mylar hung on string or fishing line move in the wind and scare birds off.

Be creative: anything you can devise that makes a window look less like a window will help save birds.

What to do if a bird does hit your window:

If the bird is alive but dazed, pick it up with a towel and place it in a paper bag or small box with a lid. Put the container in a dark, quiet place, away from pets and children, close the door and check to see if the bird has recovered in an hour or two. If you hear it scratching around in the bag or box, it’s probably time to release it outdoors.

If the bird is injured, then it’s time to take it to a wildlife rehabilitator. In the Twin Cities, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (651.486.9453) in Roseville treats injured birds.