Bird Deaths

[Gardian]

I'm just wondering whether anybody has any idea why this happens.

We have double-glazed sliding doors to the front of the house: close by, we always put up a bird feeder for the Great Tits which are numerous around here. Every winter there are several fatalities, whereby the birds just seem to fly straight at the glass: I've just found one and that makes 3 in the last couple of months. Happily, for every death there are several who suffer a glancing blow where it just flies off or lies stunned for a minute or so and then staggers off.

Strangely, its always the same window and to get to it, the birds would have to take a 'wrong course' to or from the feeder. Other species (which we also feed on an adjacent wall, never suffer the same fate.

The obvious answer to try to solve the problem is to move the feeder further away from the house, but it doesn't explain why or how it occurs. Such a shame because they're beautiful birds.  Any ideas anybody?  

[Frederick]

Looking from your window out to the bird feeder. Are there any trees the other side of the feeder . From the garden looking at your window do these trees reflect in the window glass . ?  If so possibly that's the answer they think they are flying towards tees .  You may have to put a sticker or two on the glass .

[Gardian]

Frederick ............

Yes to both your questions.  I should have realised that - there are trees all round.

I can't move the trees and Mrs G will be less than enthusiastic about me putting anything on the glass (you never really get it off), so moving the feeder might help. 

Thanks very much for your suggestion. 

[mint]

I wrote about a similar problem soon after we moved into our present house.  We have a glassed-in verandah running the whole length of the house and, of course, many trees in the garden.

I was desperate to do something.  Wooly suggested hanging CDs (specifically Cliff Richard ones [:)]) up and we did that on the most lethal windows.  Didn't much like CDs hanging all along the balcony in our case but you could be OK with just the front door in glass.

Then, I bought and hung up lots of mobiles.  Although bird death numbers were reduced, there continued to be the odd dead bird.  In the end, I resorted to curtains and now I have curtains on all of the full-length windows but not on the ordinary length ones.  However, I realise that curtains might not be the answer for you.

I still have a few mobiles where our glass front door is but the curtains seem to have put the birds right off.  And now I am used to the curtains, I don't mind them at all.

[Frederick]

[quote user="Gardian"]

Frederick ............

Yes to both your questions.  I should have realised that - there are trees all round.

I can't move the trees and Mrs G will be less than enthusiastic about me putting anything on the glass (you never really get it off), so moving the feeder might help. 

Thanks very much for your suggestion. 

[/quote]

You are welcome !  We had the same problem some time ago even large birds hit our patio doors. We now have vertical blinds that seems to help .

[Gardian]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

Wooly suggested hanging CDs (specifically Cliff Richard ones [:)]) up [/quote]

This could be the answer SW17.

Happily we don't have any Cliff Richard ones, but there are a few nasties around which might do the trick!

Seriously though, I think that I might experiment with a bit of that anti-frost fleece stuff hung from the pillars in front of the glass. Its about 80cms wide (or in this context, deep) and see how that works.  At this time of the year, it doesn't matter cosmetically and it might just stop the daft birds from topping themselves.

 

[Rabbie]

We have a Great Tit who regularly arracks one of our windows. I suspect he is attacking hus reflection. So far no damage to himself or window.