Growing up, I keep in mind hearing a loud “thunk” on the window every now and then. To my discouragement, I would discover a bird hurt—or even worse—exterior.
Little did I understand that window crashes are the 2nd leading reason for casualty for birds in North America, with over 365 million bird deaths resulting each year.
One Birmingham organization, Alabama Audubon, is working to lower that number with an effort called Project Safe Flight.
Project Safe Flight
Project Safe Flight was established in action to the worrying variety of window-bird strikes that take place each year in the United States. As one may anticipate, birds don’t frequently identify glass while in flight.
Instead, they have their eye on their location, whether that’s a house plant on the other side of a window or a tree in the reflection.
On very first idea, it may appear like there’s absolutely nothing we can do. In our modern-day cities and areas, windows are all over.
Project Safe Flight, however, has some responses. These services to bird-window crashes fast and simple, and help Alabama Audobon’s objective to keep more birds alive.
“Project Safe Flight is going to provide us with insight into the extent of this problem across the state and which species are most affected. It’s also going to help us identify buildings that have a lot of collisions, and allow us to work with those building owners to try and retrofit their windows. We know that windows are killing a lot of birds, but the really great thing is that we know what the solutions are and that they are accessible. We can all start saving birds’ lives today.”
Lianne Koczur, Science & Conservation Director
1. Install budget-friendly, ingenious window coverings
When I state “window coverings,” I’m not stating that your home will never ever get any natural light.
One of the majority of efficient methods to avoid bird-window strikes is with ingenious window applications. As you can see above, these items are subtle, however they enhance the windows’ exposure for birds and separate reflections.
“There are lots of effective options for making windows bird-safe. FeatherFriendly decals are what we have used so far. They are pretty simple to install on smaller/easily accessible windows and incredibly effective at preventing collisions. We have also seen zen curtains be very successful, which is just strips of paracord rope hung from the top of the window. Whatever you want to try, the most important things are that it needs to be on the outside of the window in order to break up the reflection and spacing should be 4 inches apart at the most (every 2 inches is best).”
Lianne Koczur, Science & Conservation Director
Installing these budget-friendly items (on the outdoors of windows) is a simple, efficient method to avoid bird-window crashes. If you wish to see what the completed item appears like, head to Kinetic on Morris Avenue or the Wildlife Center at Oak Mountain.
2. Move your bird feeders
This one’s lovely simple—put your bird feeders within 3 feet of your windows. Doing so will trigger birds to lose momentum when heading towards a window mid-flight.
Even much better, put feeders near security—such as bushes—so that birds can conceal from predators.
3. Turn off the lights during the night
Not just can shutting off lights during the night save energy, it can likewise save birds. According to Alabama Audubon, shutting off lights during the night can lower bird-window crashes considering that numerous birds move during the night.
If you forget to do this in some cases (like me), attempt utilizing timers and movement sensing units.
BENEFITS: Join Project Safe Flight!
If you’re aiming to get back at more associated with Project Safe Flight’s objective, you can sign up with the group yourself.
“We are always looking for more people to join the Project Safe Flight team! We need people to survey buildings for injured and dead birds, to help transport injured birds to rehabilitation facilities, to help with installing decals – there are lots of ways to get involved! You can reach out to us at [email protected].”
Lianne Koczur, Science & Conservation Director
Alabama Audubon is likewise hosting an information session later on this month, which is a fantastic method to start getting associated with Project Safe Flight. Register at the link listed below!
You can likewise register to volunteer in Project Safe Flight on Alabama Audubon’s website.
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