A warbler recuperates after striking a window. Inset images reveals a disallowed owl after it struck a window, and the very same owl being later on launched into the wild. Photos by Ann Brokelman.
By ANN BROKELMAN
I’ve chosen to spend some time to blog about a tough, however required subject today: Window strikes.
I’ve wished to discuss this for a long time, however I’ve constantly had a hard time to discover the ideal words. Well, I’ve waited enough time. If these aren’t the ideal words, ideally they are close sufficient to get some helpful details throughout.
How much of you readers have had a bird struck among your windows prior to? Between all your homes and apartment or condos I’ve resided in, I don’t think I might count all the strikes.
But, consider that for a couple of minutes. If the majority of people have had at least one bird struck among their windows, wouldn’t that mean… countless strikes? Of course, not all the effects are deadly, however we’re most likely not familiar with all the strikes either, if they took place while we’re out of the home, for instance.
I took a minute to Google this, and I found a shocking Government of Canada article that estimated that, every year across Canada and the United States, between 400 million and 1 billion birds die from window strikes. Every year. (Those numbers are big enough that I put the link at the bottom of the article for you to double check)
The rest of the information, about preventing window strikes, in this article comes from my conversations with Paloma Plant and Heather Smith from Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada.
They told me that in the spring migration alone, millions of national birds will hit private homes, low to mid-rise, high rise office towers, cottages, and even clear railings and fences.
Why does this happen? Many of you have most likely seen, an online video of some poor person accidentally walking into a glass door. I know I have. The poor victim had no idea the glass was there.
The most important idea from my conversations with Paloma and Heather was most of these strikes are preventable.
When windows reflect shrubbery, trees, and especially empty blue sky, it’s almost inevitable that a bird will eventually hit it.
There are, however, many products off the shelf which can be applied to windows, glass doors, and other clear or reflective surfaces. The key is to do just a little research to know what makes the most sense for the outside of your windows. Luckily, if you go to the FLAP website (FLAP.org) you’ll see and learn about a wide variety of products, including how to install them yourself, to help protect our avian friends.
To help the birds all that is required was a few simple sticker-markers on the glass. To be effective, these markers were placed on the outside surface of the window, and the gaps in between them were no larger than 5cm x 5cm (2” x 2”). Multiple markers are essential – a silhouette of a single bird is not going to prevent birds from hitting that window.
So, what do you do if you have actually a bird strike your window before you can put up your own markers?
Assuming the bird survived the impact, try to safely contain it in a non-wax-paper bag. Alternately, you could put the bird in a butterfly tent, or even a small box with a paper towel on the bottom. The bags are porous which allow the bird to breathe without punching holes in them. Then call your closest wildlife centre, such as the Toronto Wildlife Centre at 416-631-0662 and ask them for next steps or leave a message.
If you’re waiting for them to call back, please do not open the paper bag or box. The bird may try to fly out and hurt itself even more. Just put it in a dark and quiet room until you hear back from the wildlife centre. Also, whether the bird is dead or alive, go to the Global Bird Collision Mapper to post the impact info at
To date, FLAP has recorded the window/impact deaths of 176 species of birds, from hummingbirds to hawks and owls, including more than 20 species that are considered At Risk.
A final note from John Carley, Board of Directors at FLAP: Toronto with its Planning Department created the Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines, which were adopted by City Council in March 2007. At that time, these were guidelines only. However, with the establishment of the Toronto Green Standard in 2010, the guidelines became mandatory. Through successive years, the Toronto Green Standard has been updated so that now it is in Version 4 with quite strict requirements for lots of aspects of planning and construction, consisting of bird-friendly measures.
Let’s do our part to keep our feathered pals safe.
Here’s where you can buy the bird friendly tape: www.featherfriendly.com/residential
Also here is more details from the federal government:
