How to reduce window strikes

I washed patio-door windows yesterday. The job included cleaning some American Goldfinch feathers from two of the panels. We had collisions there in September. One of the birds died on impact. The other flew away, probably dead soon after from the concussion it surely suffered. Many window victims die after they leave the scene of the accident.

There are several things you can do to lessen window strikes if it's a problem for you. We added more decals to warn birds that think the reflection they see in the glass is just another flight path, and we moved each patio door screen to center on its pair of glass panels. (Two panels per door set, one of which slides open; it has the screen.) This reduces impact area to half of what it was for each panel. On the remaining areas of open glass we now have more decals, these in the shape of leaves, very visible from outside, not very visible from inside. This seems to be working.

Here are more ideas, from the American Bird Conservancy.

1) Remember Glass Wax? It's now called Gel Gloss or Window Wax. It is visible on glass when it dries. Mark your windows as you wish. The products wipe off easily, and cleans your window in the process. Home Depot has Gel Gloss.

2) Use tape to create a pattern on the glass. Space tape strips four inches apart vertically and two inches horizontally. Remember that tape can be hard to remove.

3) Stretch lightweight netting over the window, several inches in front of the glass and taut. Screens are good. The Bird Screen Company (www.birdscreen.com) sells screen panels that attach to windows with suction cups.

4) For decals, visit your local wild-bird supply store or go to www.windowalert.com, www.collidescape.com, or www.wpines.com. You also can use window film designed to look like frosted or etched glass: www.windowdressingetc.com.

Here's what one of our patio window sets looks like. On the right, one set of doors bisected by its screen door. On that glass panel, two decals (below the hanging suet feeder, barely visible against top part of deck railing). The window feeders are on the left. The two closeup shots of the decals show them from outside and inside. The window feeders, by the way, also help prevent collisions, at least for us.