February Presentation: Wild Birds Unlimited Discussion

[abbacusgrand]

Thank you Barbara and Dan Gleason for your presentation today.

 

This is a great place to put personal stories or takeaways from our monthly presenter.

 

[abbacusgrand]

One of my favorite points today was managing pests with a “work with them” approach. I liked when Barbara mentioned she has trained her squirrels, Crows, and Jays to leave her prey birds alone by feeding them the food they prefer in a different place of the yard.

You can order many of the items we heard about today including the Bark Butter, Feeders, and Predator Deterents on their website here: https://order.wbu.com/eugene/bird-food/bark-butter/bark-butter

 

Why Do Birds Strike Windows?

• Birds strike windows when they see trees and adjacent landscapes reflected in the glass. Birds do not easily interpret windows as impenetrable until the reflection is removed or reduced.
• Young birds suffer window strikes when learning new unfamiliar landscapes.
• Migratory birds become disoriented by outdoor lighting, causing them to circle buildings, structures and windows, often striking them.
• Inclement weather that forces migratory birds to temporarily halt their journey and land in new locations, poses a major window strike risk.

Simple Actions You Can Take To Protect Birds

• Acopian Bird Savers – Paracords hung outside in the fronts of windows
• CollidEscape – Collision reduction window films
• Feather Friendly Tape – Placed on the outside of windows within 2×4 or 2×2 inches apart and covering the window.
• Reduce window reflection by placing UV decals or opaque decals in your windows. Must cover the window and be placed within 4 inches apart or the decals will NOT be effective. Decals sold by WindowAlert and at the Bird Watcher’s General Store in Orleans.
• ArtScape Window Bird Deflectors – Beautiful window films and decorative accents that prevent bird strikes.
• Eliminate outdoor lighting which can disorient migratory birds.
  Turn off unnecessary indoor/outdoor lighting between the hours of 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM nightly.
• Draw vertical lines on your windows with a glass-writing pen. Must be less than 4 inches apart. Stripes/irregular patterns should be 1/8th wide and visible.
  Spray soapy water, or place UV liquid on your windows to break the reflection. (UV Liquid sold at WindowAlert.)
• You can also use other “bird friendly” tape, ribbons, or tempera paint on the outside of your windows (<4 inches apart and a minimum of 1/8th wide), or keep your shades down to reduce reflection.
• Place bird feeding stations within 15 feet of your home or dwelling to reduce strike impact.
• Read The American Bird Conservancy’s Resource Sheet on how to prevent bird-window collisions

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 1 day ago by abbacusgrand.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 6 days ago by abbacusgrand.

[Patti]

Thank you Abby for the list of what to do about birds striking windows.   I learned at the presentation to stop putting pam on my bird feeder pole to deter squirrels.  I’ve only done it a couple of times to laugh at the squirrels sliding down the pole.  But I won’t do it again since I now know the effects of getting that oil on birds feet or wings if they touch it.

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