Lower Trent Conservation has taken initiative to protect our feathered friends by preventing birds from unnecessary injury, or death, due to bird-window collisions. As thousands of birds take flight this fall to begin the long trek south for winter the likelihood of birds’ being stunned,or killed, by accidentally flying into windows unsurprisingly increases.
When birds look at windows, they see a reflection of the surrounding sky and trees, or they see through glass into open space. That’s why they mistake windows as a clear flight path to their habitat. Not seeing glass and flying into windows at high speeds can stun or kill birds.
“Using visual cues, we are able to alert birds of the presence of glass,” says Ewa Bednarczuk, Ecology & Stewardship
Specialist with Lower Trent Conservation. “This can be done very simply with window paint, adhesive markers, film, screens, or netting. Here, at Lower Trent Conservation’s Administration Office, we have placed small white adhesive markers on the exterior surface of window glass to deter birds, while maintaining a clear, aesthetically-pleasing view through the windows.”
Windows are one of the leading human causes of death for birds. According to an Environment Canada study published in 2013, collisions with residential and commercial buildings kill an estimated 16 to 42 million birds each year in Canada– mostly at houses. Across North America, the estimated number of migrating birds killed annually in collisions with buildings is estimated to be 699 million.
Lower Trent Conservation encourages the public to join its quest to protect our feathered friends by installing visual
cues on windows at home, work and school to help prevent bird-window collisions. To learn more, contact Lower Trent Conservation at 613-394-4829 or visit our website home page at www.LTC.on.ca.