Public service announcement urges homeowners to fix one window birds collide with as bird migration builds

MADISON – SOS Save Our Songbirds released a public service announcement today urging homeowners to act now to prevent birds from colliding with home windows as fall bird migration builds in Wisconsin.

The PSA is part of the ongoing Stop the Fallout campaign promoted by SOS Save Our Songbirds, the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership, Madison Audubon and other bird groups in Wisconsin.

The campaign features webinars, local events, and discounts on anti-collision products to help more people save birds by tackling one problem window at their home that birds collide with.

North American bird populations have declined significantly over the past 50 years and birds colliding with windows is a major threat. Research has shown that nearly 1 billion birds die every year in the U.S. after colliding with windows, nearly half of them at home windows.

“Birds colliding with home windows is a big problem for the birds we love. The good news is we can do something about it!” says Lisa Gaumnitz, who coordinates SOS Save Our Songbirds, an initiative of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership.

Glass is invisible to birds. They think they’re flying to trees, plants and sky when they see these habitat features reflected in a window or seen through a window on the other side of a home.

Birds collide with windows year-round, but research shows there are more such collisions during spring and fall migration. The toll is greatest during fall migration because not only are adults flying south, but young, more inexperienced birds hatched earlier in the summer are making their first journey.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds like this one photographed in Madison are 175 times more likely to collide with home windows than the average bird, research shows. Photo: Linda Deith

Typically only one or a few windows in homes are a problem for birds, and there are many effective solutions to keep birds safe. Solutions include installing insect screens on the outside of windows, DIY solutions like using tempera paint or oil-based markers to draw a design on the outside of windows, or applying adhesive markers to the outside of windows that leave behind a grid of dots or small squares when the backing is removed.

Other methods tested by the American Bird Conservancy Glass Collision Program and found effective include Acopian BirdSavers, a curtain of parachute cord that hangs on the outside of windows. The maker of this product sells it and provides DIY instructions on its website, birdsavers.com.

“We urge you to try fixing one window, your worst window for birds,” Gaumnitz says. “The one where you’ve heard birds hit before.”

Windows next to bird feeders or bird baths, big picture windows, or windows where birds can see through to habitat on the other side of the building are good candidates to fix.

If windows are hard to reach, hiring a window washer or a handyman is a good option, or the “solution” can be placed on the inside of the window. “Ideally, the solution goes on the outside of a window, but if that’s not possible, doing something is better than doing nothing,” Gaumnitz says.