Alice with a Yellow Warbler. Keep your cats inside (and wild birds outside!).
When I started writing this last October, reflected light from dangling CDs flashed across our living room. It was our latest attempt to warn birds about our deadly picture window. The biggest wave of bird migration had already flowed south. Still, juncos, warblers and swans were still straggling through town and winter flocks of redpolls and waxwings had already showed up. One day Malkolm found a dead Common Redpoll in our driveway. Maybe it had hit our neighbor’s window, but it could have been ours.
Many of the threats to birds need to be addressed by governments and industry. However, we also want to make things easier for birds at home . . .
1) We’re attempting to make our windows safer for birds. Ornithologists have estimated that a billion birds are killed every year in North America. The most useful website we’ve found is http://www.flap.org/new/prevent.htm.
Here is a great tip from Betty Doize of Louisiana: We have a large picture window in the front of the house and double glass sliding doors directly in line in the back. We lost quite a few birds to window kill. Tried everything to no avail. I finally purchased some BIRD-X Protective Netting for Fruit and Vegetables. It is 14ft X 14 ft,3/4 polypropylene mesh(U-V inhibitors for long life). I wove some thin wire through and attached it to small cup hooks which were screwed into the fascia. Had to weight it down as it is very light and blows with a breeze. It does not block the view and is not that noticeable. I purchased this from a feed store and at the time itcost about $9.00. It has been up for about 5 years and no bird kills since. I shared this idea with several friends and they had the same success. It is to protect against birds eating fruit/vegetables but I use it to protect the birds! Mary suggests that the netting would be available from any store that sells fruit trees.
2) We hate to admit that we live with Alice. Alice is an old cat now, but when she was younger we kept her inside during bird migrations. It is incredible how many birds are killed by cats. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin estimated that cats kill at least 7 million (and possibly 217 million) birds each year in rural Wisconsin alone. www.abcbirds.org/cats/
3) We buy organic, locally grown foods whenever possible. Pesticides and herbicides poison wildlife (and people). Unnecessary transportation kills birds directly (collisions) and worsens global warming. www.abcbirds.org/pesticides/what_you_can_do.htm
4) We do our best to reduce our fossil-fuel use, reduce our consumption in general, recycle and support businesses with a positive record on caring for the environment.
5) Our first priority when we assess politicians is their record on supporting a healthy environment.
6) We try to support conservation groups, locally and nationally. One great coalition of groups working to support bird conservation in the boreal forest is the Boreal Songbird Initiative. And of course, the National Audubon Society has been working to protect birds and bird habitat for longer than anyone can remember. We are working closely with California Audubon on events and conservation initiatives.
Send us your ideas.
