How can you help the birds avoiding to collide with your windows?
Please draw blinds, curtains and shades in your apartment and lobbies. Please make the windows visible to birds and you will help saving their lives.
Turn Off unnecessary interior lights during the migration season! Keep your plants away from the windows; turn off unnecessary interior lights at night; if possible, hang ornaments in your windows;
Use decals and space them no more than every 4 inches horizontally and 2 inches apart vertically;
Or
Draw streaks with a highlighter (you will not see it but the birds will) or with a bar soap and after the migration, it can be easily washed out.
New York is part of the Atlantic Flyway, which many migrating birds use to reach warmer climates. It’s a wonderful journey but too many of them will collide with glass reflective windows. After a collision birds appear unresponsive, fluffed up at times and breathe in slowly and out quickly. Should you see/find a bird after a collision with a window contact a DEC licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
Meanwhile… place the bird in a cardboard box with a few air holes, place the bird in a quiet, safe, dark area. That will help the bird reduce stress as birds concussed are extremely photo-sensitive and will need to rest and sleep.
Only a few of them will make it thanks to a prompt intervention of wildlife rehabilitators. Too many others will never reach their destinations, they will die. Glass windows are the greatest threat to migratory birds. Every year, near a billion birds are estimated to be killed after slamming into buildings covered in reflective glass in the United States. Each migration season, Spring & Fall, nearly one third of the bird species found in the United States, diurnal and nocturnal, die by colliding with buildings. Near a billion birds are estimated to be killed after slamming into buildings covered in reflective glass in the United States. Every year fast fliers like Finches, Hummingbirds, Swallows etc. considered diurnal or daytime migrants; And, the Cuckoos, Flycatchers, Warblers, Orioles… that are nocturnal taking off within an hour of sunset and flying through the night, will never reach their destinations. It is vital that we do all we can to minimize or better eliminate these dangers whenever possible. The renovated Javits Convention Center is a terrific example. From one of the deadliest structures it is now one of the most hospitable for birds. The building used to be the largest bird killer in NYC. Architects around the world have created fantastic bird friendly structures that incorporate little or no exposed glass. The New York Times building in NYC is one of them. Designing a new structure to be bird friendly does not need to add much to the cost of construction.
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