Christine: I am curious to know if someone has indeed compiled *data* on
the "effectiveness of window kills". Is there in fact some published
information? Fascinating.
Steve Herman

On 19 Nov 1995, CHRISTINE W. MAACK wrote:

> Time to chime in with my bird rehabbers suggestions for *preventing* window
> strikes, since our experience with helping birds recover from them is that: most
> don't. Especially among birds smaller than a waxwing, brain swelling usually
> kills them within 5 days, although they might look quite chipper and normal
> until the last minute.
>
> If you have a window at home or at work that seems to be rising up and smiting
> quite a few birds, you can hang strings down over it by stapling them to a strip
> of cardboard and stapling the cardboard to the top of the frame. Something about
> the thickness of braided fishing line will work. You need to weight the bottoms
> of the strings so they don't blow around and tangle.
>
> The black plastic netting sold to cover your berry bushes and protect them from
> birds would also work if stretched tight across the window frame, a couple of
> inches from the glass surface.
>
> I have heard, but not tested, that placing a life-size picture of a human head
> in the window will warn birds away from it.
>
> They say that tests done with hawk silhouettes (sp?) pasted to windows show
> little effectiveness.
>
> If the killer window provides a see-through of the whole house, it can lead
> birds to believe they can go right through. Keep shades drawn on the other side
> of the room.
>
> Good luck and try something. Mortality from window kills is as significant as
> from cat predation.
>
> Chris Maack
> Bird Treatment & Learning Center
> Anchorage, AK
> 73201.3124 at compuserve.com
>
>