How to prevent window crashes, common in fall

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 01 October 2009 11:01

Autumn seems to be a time of year when window strikes by birds are common. The lowering angle of the sun is creating mirror-like reflections on glass, making some windows look like the wide, open spaces.

Jacquie Littlejohn of Weston has experienced the problem and, like all of us, finds it distressful — especially after she had already taken steps to dissuade the birds from colliding with her windows.

“I am devastated,” she writes. “Just now a Wood Thrush died after flying into a window. This summer, I vowed not to let this happen again at my house so I put up decals everywhere. The other birds seem to see these but the Wood Thrushes and Ovenbirds don’t. They continue to fly into my windows. What more can I do?”

Jacquie had used the WindowAlert (windowalert.com), a well-regarded type of window decal that is virtually invisible to our eyes, but is supposed to show up clearly to a bird’s eye. Her experience suggests that some species may “see things differently.” Perhaps not coincidentally, both Ovenbirds and Wood Thrushes are birds of the dark forest floor, whose eyes might be more sensitive to different light frequencies or intensities.

As an alternative, we suggested something that no eye could miss.  FeatherGuard is a hanging mobile that attaches to the outside of your window by suction cup. Brightly colored feathers dangle from thin lines.

According to the promotional literature, “FeatherGuard is an effective solution that combines the use of bright colors, loose feathers and motion. Birds have an inherent aversion to loose feathers — a danger signal that another bird has been killed by a predator.”

FeatherGuard’s inventor, Stiles Thomas of New Jersey, had strung some turkey feathers on fishing line and was impressed by their effectiveness in reducing window strikes.

Bill Thompson, III, editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest, decided to try Stiles’ idea on his own problem windows at his Ohio farm. Bill found his window strikes were virtually eliminated. He contacted Stiles about producing FeatherGuard commercially and the two reached an agreement to do so in 2002.

You get two mobiles to a package for $14. They are available at many bird-feeding outlets, as well as directly from featherguard.com.

Less elegant methods of dealing with the problem include putting up fine screening or even clear plastic to obscure the reflection, floating helium balloons near the window, or, in an extreme case, applying a temporary coating of Glass Wax or some other readily removable substance.

A rainy feast

On the happier side, Jacquie reports that on Sunday afternoon, “For the past few hours I have watched six knock-out gorgeous Northern Flickers eating right outside my house alongside a Wood Thrush, numerous robins, some Blue Jays and a multitude of sparrows while a catbird is splashing around in a nearby birdbath. They are feasting mostly on worms, thanks to the rain bringing them to surface. And I wouldn’t have guessed, but have been amused to watch, their pecking order — the Blue Jays get pushed around by the flickers who in turn get shooed by the catbirds!

“This is beyond believable. A Pileated is now here...up in my tall larch, which, when they’re not on the ground, appears to be everyone’s favorite tree today.  And, for comic contrast, a chipmunk and a Carolina Wren flitting about in the mix. There is so much unusual activity all at once today — I’ve never seen anything like it.”

After a dry spell, a little rain can bring out the wildlife. The flickers, which are ground-feeding woodpeckers, may have been a flock stopping by on its migration south. Two weeks ago, we were bicycling Le P’tit Train du Nord, a 125-mile rail trail through the Laurentians northwest of Montreal, and saw dozens of flickers, no doubt chowing down for that journey south.

Coming Up

The Race for Space: Is Connecticut’s Land Acquisition Policy (Good) For the Birds? with Karl Wagener of the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality, Thursday, Oct. 1, 7-8 p.m. at Pequot Library, 720 Pequot Ave., Southport, RSVP to Mara Neville at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 203-259-6305, ext. 103

Bird Seed Sale and Savings Day, Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Connecticut Audubon Society Center, 2325 Burr Street, Fairfield,   203-259-6305, ext. 109

Second Annual Great Meadows Marsh Birding Festival, presentations by Connecticut Audubon, Wind Over Wings, Audubon Connecticut,  DEP and more, Oct. 2-4, free rain or shine, greatmeadowsmarsh.org for directions and details.

Block Island Weekend, three-day fall migration birding trip, Oct. 2 to 4, Connecticut Audubon, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 800-996-8747.

Hook Mountain Hawk Watch, on the Hudson River, with Audubon Greenwich, includes moderate half-mile uphill hike, Saturday, Oct. 17, 9 to 3, RSVP with Ted at 203-869-5272 x230.

Cove Island Park Bird Sanctuary, migrants and shorebirds in Stamford, Sunday, Oct. 18, 8 to 11 a.m., Greenwich Audubon, RSVP required: Call Brian 203-869-5272 x221.

Autumn Migration Bird Walks, every Saturday, 7 to 8:45 a.m., in October, meet at Fairchild Sanctuary, North Porchuck Road in Greenwich, free, 203-869-5272 x221, greenwich.audubon.org

Bird Walks with Luke Tiller, to register, sunrisebirding.com/walks.htm; 203-981-9924, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

First Sundays, birding at Greenwich Point with Meredith Sampson of Wild Wings, and other guides, meet at the second concession stand, 203-637-9822.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments to: jackfsanders [at sign] yahoo.com, or to Bird Notes, Box 1019, Ridgefield, CT 06877; or call 203-438-1183, extension BIRD (2473), and leave a message with your report, spelling your first and last names and telling us your town. If you need help identifying a bird, try your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow of Redding, 203-438-0618, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, 203-544-9913, or Wild Wings of Greenwich, 203-637-9822. The columnist’s website is www. sandersbooks. com.

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