It’s mid-September already, and fall migration is in full swing. Many of the beautiful songbirds we’ve enjoyed over the spring and summer months are making their way to their wintering grounds, including thrushes, warblers, tanagers, orioles and last, but certainly not least, hummingbirds.
Did you know that we can help them safely reach their destinations? Other than cats, window strikes are a high cause of bird fatalities. We can prevent this from happening by making our windows more visible to birds. There are a number of products available for this purpose.
Window Alerts: This product comes in a variety of shapes and sizes to choose from. Each decal has a special coating that reflects ultraviolet sunlight. The birds see this as a glowing stop sign. To us it appears as an etched design. They need to be placed on the outside of your windows, and should be replaced before spring and fall migration.
Wilderness Fred’s Anti-collision Decals: These are available in black static cling decals shaped like a hawk, or transparent decals which contain a component to brightly reflect ultraviolet sunlight. Each package contains 2 sheets with one large and 2 small decals. Place on the outside of your windows.
Window Alerts UV Liquid: This liquid can be applied to windows with the bingo marker to create small dots on your window, and can be used along with UV Alert Stickers. Apply to the outside of your windows.
Window Gems: These are prismatic, static cling vinyl decals that come in a variety of shapes including birds, leaves, dragonflies, butterflies and pinecones. They will capture sunlight, or moonlight, creating a glow of various colours like rainbows. Window Gems can be washed and reused. They are most effective when placed on the outside of your window, but can be put on the inside if your outside window is difficult to reach.
Homes and businesses can also make a huge difference by turning off indoor and outdoor lights at night, as many birds migrate at this time.
Let’s do our part this autumn to help birds reach their destinations safely so we can look forward to their return next spring!
Happy Birding!
Jane Paradis
Brand Ambassador
Urban Nature Store
