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Birds Flying Into Windows

I think the theory now is that birds simply don't register glass as a thing, and see a window as an open route to be flown through. Thus, they tend to fly into the windows of clearly lit rooms, and not those with blinds or curtains closed, or where the room is very dark (making the glass look opaque). Also, larger areas of glass tend to be more of a problem - especially if the bird can see through to a clear window on the other side of the building.

As long as they are positioned correctly, window bird feeders are actually considered safe - even the RSPB sell them these days - which probably wouldn't be the case if birds went mental at their own reflections as a matter of course. (I think some species do get aggressive, especially during mating season - it happens, but it's not that common; birds tend to tweet the buggery out of each other, rather than get punchy.)

When I was younger a bird fell in love with his reflection on our bedroom window. Every morning he would come and peck at the glass. It got so bad, you could actually start to see a mark on the glass from all the pecking. Sadly he was an early riser and being woken by the incessant tapping was not fun. The curtains being closed didn't seem to make a difference on the bird and the reflection. We rang the RSPB who said we should hang a string with something noisy on that might scare him. We fashioned a peace of string with some foil cake tins (the small kind, like MR Kiplings) as it was the best we could come up with. The next morning the bird appeared and was very grateful for the lovely swing we had provided. Back to the RSPB who said we should smear the glass to make it opaque. So the best part of a bottle of windowlene went on the windows and stayed for a week, after which the bird was never to be seen again thankfully.
 
Thanks for the comments folks!

I'm hoping to post another photo of the owl imprint from inside the house where it looks as though its feet have come forward to break the impact to some degree (I tried to post 2 photos initially but only one uploaded?) Glad at the time that there wasn't a dead or injured owl in the garden, so hopefully it survived to crash another day.

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Hundreds of migrating songbirds died by striking windows in New York City's skyscrapers.

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Hundreds of migrating songbirds crash into NYC skyscrapers

Hundreds of birds migrating through New York City this week died after crashing into the city’s glass towers, a mass casualty event spotlighted by a New York City Audubon volunteer’s tweets showing the World Trade Center littered with bird carcasses.

This week’s avian death toll was particularly high, but bird strikes on Manhattan skyscrapers are a persistent problem that NYC Audubon has documented for years, said Kaitlyn Parkins, the group’s associate director of conservation and science.

Stormy weather Monday night into Tuesday contributed to the deaths, she said. ...

Volunteers with NYC Audubon document bird deaths at high-risk spots during the spring and fall migrations.

Melissa Breyer, the volunteer who tweeted about finding nearly 300 birds on sidewalks surrounding the new World Trade Center towers, said the experience was “overwhelming.”

“As soon as I got to the buildings, the birds were everywhere on the sidewalk,” Breyer said. “Looking north, covered, south, covered, west, covered, the sidewalks were literally covered with birds.” ...

It wasn’t the last flight for all the birds that crashed. Some survived. ...

A total of 77 birds were taken to the Wild Bird Fund’s rehab facility on the Upper West Side on Tuesday, the majority of them from the trade center area, director Ritamary McMahon said. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/lifestyl...ew-york-city-baf07c81dc9fa8da53d4eac627129f7d
 
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