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	Birds Fly Into Your Window

What do you do if a bird has flown into your window?

Naturalists at the Audubon Society of New Hampshire receive many calls about birds that have struck glass windows and been stunned, injured or killed.

The best remedy is prevention. Birds fly into windows because they don't know the windows are there. The reflections of woods and sky on glass look - to a bird - like woods and sky. The key to preventing this deadly misperception is to break up the reflections. During the day, pulling down the window shades or closing the blinds, especially if they are white, can make it more difficult for birds to see reflections in the glass. Window screens on the outside will also make the glass less reflective.

Anything placed on the outside surface of the window will help break up the misleading reflections. Try stickers, streamers, or hawk silhouettes. The NH Audubon Nature Store sells inexpensive vinyl hawk silhouettes with an adhesive back. Mount these on the outside of windows where birds most commonly strike - look for "feather marks" left on windows to find the best spots. Predator silhouettes mounted on the inside of windows will have little effect - it is not the shape that deflects the birds, but the birds' realization that the window is a physical barrier. Some bird supply stores now have decals available that are visible to the birds but less so to humans so they are not as obvious as the vinyl silhouettes which are usually black in color. If you prefer something less "permanent," use soap, glasswax, or fake snow to create a design on the outside of the window or patio door for a few weeks. Hanging ribbons will serve the same purpose as will stripes made of removable tape. Use 1-inch wide tape or ribbon and place the vertical stripes every four inches.

Installing indoor-outdoor blinds on the outside of the windows will create an effective physical barrier. A "curtain" of plastic garden netting - the kind with meshes of about an inch or less - draped several inches in front of the window will also help break up reflections, as well as physically deflecting birds.

If you find that many of your bird strikes take place during the summer near your feeder it may be best to discontinue feeding until the fall or try a different location for the feeders.

Sometimes birds strike windows because they are startled and temporarily disoriented by the sudden appearance of a predator such as a hawk or a cat near a feeder. Moving your feeders further from dangerous windows will help prevent some strikes.

Occasionally, despite your precautions, a bird strikes a window and falls to the ground. Even if it appears dead, the bird may only be stunned. Carefully place the bird in a box with a lid and keep it in a quiet location. Every half hour, check the box by bringing it outdoors and removing the lid.

If the bird flies away, rejoice; otherwise wait a bit longer. If, after three hours, the bird has not flown away, or has tried, but cannot, you'll need to contact a wildlife rehabilitator. NH Audubon can refer you to one in your area, or call Maria Colby at the Wings of Dawn Bird Sanctuary at 603-428-3723.