Thanks to those who responded to the post regarding bird strikes with glass
not being something that needs to be addressed. If anyone wants to debate
this further, please email me offline. I hope the information below will
help to further educate people who remain unconvinced this is an issue and
want to educate themselves. Saying addressing glass collisions is a waste
of resources and unnecessary dismiss the hard work of many concerned
citizens, architects, ornithologists, and legislators working to address
this largely under-recognized and at times unacknowledged issue.
This issue deserves urgent attention. Just a few examples (one actually
from Delaware, Maurice) of concerned citizens, planners, and ornithologists
taking on bird strikes with glass:
-Nearby Wilmington, Delaware has begun a Lights Out Program. Currently, the
program is being endorsed by DOS, the City of Wilmington, DNREC, Delaware
Nature Society, Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research and the Delaware Museum
of Natural History. Thanks to Ron Gutberlet for forwarding me this
information.
-The American Bird Conservancy and Golden Gate Audubon have been assisting
the San Francisco Planning Department in creating Standards for Bird-safe
Buildings. The hope is that the Planning Commission will then instruct the
Planning Department to craft an Ordinance and then vote on its adoption in
early 2011.
On a personal level, before we treated our picture window at home, it killed
more than a couple Robins in a series of weeks. I wasn't recording data at
the time so couldn't give a specific number, but it was probably about 8 in
3 weeks or so. A neighbor's transparent walkthrough of sliding glass doors
has killed a Scarlet Tanager, Common Yellowthroat, and a few other species
over the past 12 months. And we are just 2 houses among how many millions
in the U.S. alone? The math on that means lots of dead birds. Dedicated
Lights Out Baltimore volunteers have also been monitoring Baltimore for the
past 2 years and have gotten valuable data on species impacted by strikes.
We have also given specimens found to museums, where they can be studied vs.
tossed into the trash by street cleaners. On Monday, October 11 alone, in a
3-mile radius in downtown Baltimore, Keith Costley and I found 4 dead
White-throated Sparrows, 4 injured White-throated Sparrows, 1 dead American
Woodcock, 1 dead Gray Catbird, 1 injured Gray Catbird, 2 dead Yellow-bellied
Sapsuckers, 1 dead Eastern Towhee, 1 dead Indigo Bunting, and 1 dead Scarlet
Tanager. Volunteers Bryce Butler and Lynne Parks found, last Friday, a
variety of species, including a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Joan Cwi and
Joann Pettinicchio found a Whip-Poor-Will in downtown Baltimore, and I think
all of our volunteers have found American Woodcocks with
concussions/injuries or dead.
A few building examples that kill/killed a significant number of birds. I'd
venture to guess every large city in the world has a building like one of
these:
FLAP in Toronto recovered 500 injured or dead birds in just 6 hours at a
building complex: http://news.therecord.com/News/article/681392
Another building in New York City killed 400 birds annually (the problem was
fixed):
http://www.surfacecareusa.com/past-projects/morgan-mail-post-office.html
You may also find links here on other studies/reports:
http://www.windowcollisions.info/e/bibliography.html (Some of it is
inGerman/other languages)
http://aco.muhlenberg.edu/Popular%20Links.htm
http://aco.muhlenberg.edu/Research_Papers.htm
There is even a FLICKR page out there entitled "Bird Imprints on Glass", on
which folks try to ID the bird by the collision mark:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/552462@N20/
Birds not only collide with windows and glass walls of buildings, they
collide with glass overpasses/bridges too. We found 3 birds (2 dead, one
injured) in a 3-yard stretch of a glass overpass above Charles St. in
Baltimore City on Saturday morning. Although I don't think we've found any
in Baltimore under such circumstances, birds also have been observed
colliding with glass bus shelters and with glass/transparent sound barriers
next to highways (http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/viewthread.php?tid=405).
There are a lot of applications for glass/transparent materials in modern
life, and applications of glass in structures are growing. And there
doesn't have to be a lot of glass on a building to kill birds. We've had
birds bonk into a 1' x 1' window on our house. Consider all the transparent
barriers through which we look to see animals at zoos - they kill birds too.
The National Zoo did a study and remedied their problem areas:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/MigratoryBirds/Birdstrike/default.cfm
In regards to common species (migrants), I can provide our numbers collected
on that for a few frequent Baltimore victims. Since formal monitoring
began in Fall '08 (again only a 3-mile radius of the Inner Harbor of
Baltimore) monitoring approximately 7 days a week (our first season we only
did 5 days a week but since then have pretty much managed to do daily
between approximately mid-March to end of May and mid-August to end of
October). We don't stay any longer than around 5 minutes at each site so
we are getting a very small snapshot of what's going on. Predators such as
cats, seagulls, rats, fox, etc. take a lot of injured/dead birds for food,
so we may not have found all of the birds that were actually injured/killed
by glass. This doesn't include all of the birds so far we've found this
fall so the list is probably going to be a higher, especially on the
White-throated Sparrow.
White-throated Sparrow:
65 dead 35 compromised or injured and taken to a rehabilitator
Common Yellowthroat:
48 dead 26 compromised or injured and taken to a rehabilitator
Gray Catbird:
54 dead 14 compromised or injured and taken to a rehabilitator
Ovenbird:
61 dead 19 compromised or injured and taken to a rehabilitator
I invite folks on the listserv interested in this topic to monitor a
building with a fair amount of glass (it doesn't have to be tall - our worst
building in Baltimore is only 2 stories tall), or a problem window on your
home. Or ask friends who work at buildings with such characteristics if
they ever find dead birds by the building. The results may be quite
eye-opening.
If you decide you'd like to record your sightings on bird collisions with
glass, you can record your data here:
http://aco.muhlenberg.edu/window%20strike%20form-web.pdf. The more people
who record their data the more analysis that can be done. You can also
come out and monitor with a group in DC or Baltimore (or Wilmington) if
those areas are convenient to you.
Respectfully,
Wendy
Baltimore, MD
----- Original Message -----
From: "Maurice Barnhill" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 9:01 PM
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Glass collisions- was: Thrush
> In the article linked, the author says he "claims" that glass strikes
> are the second-highest "human-caused" source of mortality in birds. The
> only number he quotes is 1.5% of a population of parrots (granted that
> they are seriously endangered so any loss is important). The
> high-looking numbers in that article are all percentages of some set of
> species that have had *any* mortality due to glass.
>
> A mortality of 1.5% is very, very small compared to natural mortality
> and reproduction rates. It's importance is somewhat higher than it
> looks since it presumably affects adults equally with young, in contrast
> to most natural causes of mortality. Nonetheless, there are without
> doubt much more serious issues to worry about, barring special conditions.
>
> Someone should get rough estimates of percentage mortality of reasonably
> common birds, especially migrants. There is far more that we need to do
> to preserve bird populations than all of us together are capable, and it
> would be a shame to spend a lot of time on something whose actual effect
> is not very large.
>
> On 10/10/2010 8:49 PM, Wendy O wrote:
>> Rick
>>
>> A reference link was provided below. The title of the presentation
>> is: AVIAN MORTALITY AT WINDOWS: THE SECOND LARGEST
>> HUMAN SOURCE OF BIRD MORTALITY ON EARTH. By Dr. Daniel Klem.
>>
>> Here is the link again for your reference:
>> http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/pif/pubs/McAllenProc/articles/PIF09_Anthropogenic%20Impacts/Klem_PIF09.pdf
>>
>>
>> Here is another link from a David Sibley Blog.
>> http://www.sibleyguides.com/conservation/causes-of-bird-mortality/
>>
>> Wendy
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Warblerick" <>
>> To: <>
>> Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 8:24 PM
>> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Glass collisions- was: Thrush
>>
>>
>>> collisions with glass is the 2nd biggest killer of birds in the world
>>> after habitat loss
>>>
>>> Wendy,
>>> Could you please provide a source for this fact. I would think cats
>>> take far more birds than window strikes.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Rick Sussman
>>> Woodbine,MD
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Wendy O <>
>>> To:
>>> Sent: Sun, Oct 10, 2010 6:25 pm
>>> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Glass collisions- was: Thrush
>>>
>>>
>>> In regards to bird collisions with glass or plexiglass-
>>>
>>> If your windows are killing or injuring (many of the ones that fly
>>> away may not really be OK) birds with improperly treated or untreated
>>> windows, see below:
>>>
>>> In order for stickers to be effective you must have no more than 2"
>>> of space vertically and 4" horizontally to eliminate bird collisions.
>>> One sticker (or even many on a large window) does not work, as Gail
>>> mentioned below. If you want to treat your windows and want a
>>> template that will help you ensure you follow this pattern, email me
>>> offline and I will send you one with instructions on how to treat the
>>> glass. We used this 2" x 4" technique on our large (6' x 6' approx)
>>> picture window and it has completely eliminated strikes. Putting the
>>> stickers up took a while but it was worth it considering collisions
>>> with glass is the 2nd biggest killer of birds in the world after
>>> habitat loss.
>>> http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/pif/pubs/McAllenProc/articles/PIF09_Anthropogenic%20Impacts/Klem_PIF09.pdf
>>>
>>>
>>> Here are some other useful products/suggestions/information sources:
>>> http://www.birdsavers.com/
>>> http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/collisions/pdf/collisions_flyer.pdf
>>>
>>> https://www.abcbirds.org/birdconservationalliance/campaigns/collisions/Collision_info.pdf
>>>
>>>
>>> If you are considering new windows or a sunroom, or know anyone who
>>> is, here is some good news:
>>>
>>> Bird-friendlier glass is now available in the U.S. - Check the
>>> distributor websites below for more details or to inquire about the
>>> product, its effectiveness, etc. An interesting article on the
>>> product here:
>>> http://www.asknature.org/product/077e9d44e8e12f039458729f8de1ada9
>>>
>>> Distributors
>>>
>>> http://www.roeder-wd.com/ Until June 30, 2011 Roeder Windows & Doors
>>> will offer its products with integrated ORNILUX Bird Protection Glass
>>> without any
>>> up-charge.
>>>
>>> If you're looking for a sunroom or a wall of glass (don't do it
>>> unless you get a pattern on the glass or get treated glass), here is
>>> an option:
>>> http://www.nanawall.com/Learn/BirdProtection.aspx
>>>
>>> Another way you can help out is by volunteering with local monitoring
>>> groups that are collecting data on this issue. Volunteers in
>>> Baltimore have found approx 800 birds downtown during monitoring in
>>> Spring and Fall migration. Species we've found include Clapper rail,
>>> Sora, Connecticut warbler, Black-throated green warbler, Virginia
>>> rail, Yellow-bellied flycatcher, Lincoln's sparrow, Ruby-throated
>>> hummingbird, just to name a few. If anyone wants info on volunteering
>>> for either DC or Baltimore, email me offline and I can put you in
>>> touch with the appropriate folks.
>>>
>>> Wendy
>>> Baltimore, MD
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gail Mackiernan"
>>> <>
>>> To: <>
>>> Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 6:28 AM
>>> Subject: [MDOSPREY] Glass collisions- was: Thrush
>>>
>>>> Unfortunately hawk silhouettes and other rather widely-spaced items
>>>> placed
>>>> on glass windows have been found only marginally effective in
>>>> preventing
>>>> bird strikes, although they probably help. I recently purchased some
>>>> ultraviolet sticky patches which birds can see (but I can't) --
>>>> however > they
>>>> have the same down-side in that they are widely spaced. I keep the
>>>> blinds > on
>>>> our sun porch drawn (but with slats open) and this also helps but
>>>> wondered
>>>> if anyone had any other suggestions.
>>>>
>>>> I know that some have suggested drawing closely-spaced vertical
>>>> lines on > the
>>>> glass with a yellow highlighter (which again, birds see in the UV
>>>> but are
>>>> almost invisible to us). Has anyone tried this?
>>>>
>>>> Other thoughts?
>>>>
>>>> Gail Mackiernan
>>>> Colesville, MD
>>>>
>>>> on 10/09/2010 9:37 PM, sharon schwemmer at
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Alas,
>>>>>
>>>>> My son came home around 5PM today to find a GREY-CHEEKED THRUSH
>>>>> dead on >> the
>>>>> deck with pokeberry juice dripping from its beak. It had an
>>>>> unfortunate >> run
>>>>> in with the sliding door, which I might add, has several hawk
>>>>> silhouettes
>>>>> all over it. :(
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Sharon Schwemmer
>>>>> Hampstead, MD
>>>>> swschwemmer at verizon dot net
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> 10/10/10 02:34:00
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Maurice Barnhill
>
> Department of Physics and Astronomy
> University of Delaware
> Newark, DE 19716
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