Bird Window Strike Prevention
1 billion birds die a year from window collisions and you can help. Denver Audubon helps you find solutions to prevent bird window strikes. We also promote the Lights Out Colorado campaign to assist migrating birds April-May and August-September.
ARE YOU FINDING INJURED BIRDS?
Have you ever heard a thump outside your window? Or found a dust imprint of a bird on your window? Probability is that a bird collided with your window. Here are things you can do for injured or dead birds, and a way to check if your house is bird friendly.
- If you find an injured bird outside a window, visit I Found an Injured Bird to figure out what to do next.
- If you find a dead bird, track it. dBird (partnership between the New York City Audubon Society and the Seattle Audubon Society) provides a way for the public to report incidents of dead and injured birds, helping to guide research and advocacy efforts that aim to reduce human-caused hazards to birds.
- Is your home bird friendly? Take this test
- Explore ways of making your windows safer for birds with the resources found below:
HOW TO MAKE YOUR WINDOWS BIRD-SAFE
To make your windows bird friendly, place applications on your windows, paint designs, apply tape, add screens or other barriers, or even replace glass with bird-friendly options. By adding treatments to your windows, birds can then see that it is a solid surface and not the habitat that the glass is reflecting. These websites are great sources to learn how to implement solutions making your house, community, and backyard bird friendly.
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY - GLASS COLLISIONS: PREVENTING BIRD WINDOW STRIKES
American Bird Conservancy provides everything you need to know about why birds hit glass and how to prevent bird window strikes. The site has a database of bird friendly window products.
FEATHER FRIENDLY
Learn about the window strike crisis and bird safe products. Read timely blog articles how you can participate to help birds and why bird conservation is vital. This site also provides case studies of safe commercial buildings and access to CSA’s (Canadian Standards Association) Bird Friendly Building Design Standard.
FATAL LIGHT AWARENESS PROGRAM (FLAP)
A Canadian-based bird conservancy resource that is great for making your home bird safe, promoting change, or tracking a found dead bird. You can also find citizen science opportunities to get involved in your community.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Here are some other resources that may be useful:
- Bird Friendly Yards offers ways to protect birds from window collisions, a consumer guide to window treatment options, and in-depth video and blog coverage on preventing window strikes.
- Looking for bird safe window products that can provide privacy or maybe a decorative scene? Collidescape is organized into categories to help you find the perfect product for your home.
- National Geographic “Can We Stop Millions of Birds From Crashing Into Windows?” video
- Lights Out Colorado – take the pledge to help birds during migration and learn how turning off and replacing your lights helps migrating birds.
- Lights Out Denver collects data on bird window collisions in downtown Denver and works with businesses to reducing impacts of lighting. You can help by volunteering in their surveys.
- Curious to see how many birds are migrating over your area? BirdCast real-time migration uses satellite imagery so you can see birds migrating in real-time.