 The Pain of the Pane The Pop Up Video version of Melissa Etheridge’s 1994 video ‘Come To my Window’ brought to light two bits of information that I remembered for years and now find pertinent to the topic of this column. The first bit is the definition of “defenestration” which means going out, or being thrown from, a window. The second bit is that 3 million birds a year are killed by flying against windows. The term “defenestration” was coined when two monks and a secretary where tossed from the window of a castle into the moat below (thus beginning the thirty years war.) Presumably in those days windowpanes had not yet been invented, nor would it would have mattered much to the people doing the throwing whether the windows were open or closed. However, to a bird, a windowpane is a formidable barrier… …So, perhaps its time to create a new term for birds attempting entry to a house from the wrong direction and smacking into a pane of glass. In-fenestration? Ouch-fenestration? If birds could talk I’m sure they’d let us know. Something as memorable as having your body flattened against a sheet of glass with the speed of a swinging tennis racquet, rates a verb. How else would a frazzled bird, fresh from a window impact, describe to the flock why they are so late? “Wow! Do I have a headache! I just mistook the reflection on a pane of glass for reality and tried to bash through it with my skull.” The other birds with healing swollen eyes, broken beaks, and minor or major concussions would then nod in agreement realizing that they were among the lucky survivors. The other bit of information from the video was the number of birds killed by flying into windows – 3 million. If only it were that low! Unfortunately, the number is more in the area of 10 million birds killed each year. Exact numbers are hard to come by but given the number of houses, apartment buildings, and office buildings it isn’t hard to see why the numbers would quickly add up. Just my own limited experience with birds hitting house windows suggests that the aftermath might be staggering. I recently read a list of ways to prevent bird deaths due to window impacts. The list included everything from closing the curtains, to electronic devices that emit a pulse and scare birds away. After reading the list I was disappointed and realized there is still much work to do. My suggestion - the best and cheapest by the way - has still not made the list. Birds fly into panes of window glass because glass reflects. If you stand on the outside of a window and look in, the glass looks like an extension of the world. Generally speaking when birds move about at leisure, window impacts are few. Given time to consider a reflected image, birds realize there is something odd and unappealing in that version of the world. But when a predator appears – particularly a flying predator – it’s a different ball game. A frightened bird fleeing for its life as a hawk bears down is in a panic. The open sky reflected in a window seems like a welcoming avenue of escape. But the choice is deadly. A bird in escape mode flies at top speed and slamming into a window often has fatal results. If not killed outright the bird can fall to the ground in a defenseless heap and become an easy target for a predator. I have also seen a pursuing predator bird fall victim to a windowpane. One particular, mature Sharp-shinned Hawk stands out. It was a spring day, overcast with many birds gathered around the window feeder. As often happens, the small hawk used the house to obscure its approach and hurtled around the side of the building, collided with the window then bounced onto the ground. I could tell by the loudness of the impact there wasn’t much hope for the bird. From the window I saw it lying on its back quivering - dead before I got outside. So what is my tried and true, yet cheap solution for ending the carnage? I dot the outside of my windows with tempera paint. I apply the paint with the tip of my index finger and put the dots about 2 inches apart over the entire surface area of the window. This works because dotting the outside reflective surface makes the glass appear solid to the approaching bird. You can feel the effect yourself by moving towards a dotted window. Instead of an escape route, the approaching dots appear to be a solid wall. It works amazingly well. I do not have any birds impacting windows at all and this is in a house that previously took about a bird a day. Some people might not want to dot windows because they do not want to look out through dotted windows, or they do not want to destroy the beauty of their home with curious dots. What would the neighbours think? Looking out at the world through dotted windows does take some getting used to. But the view out of the window isn’t at all obliterated, and I can still photograph birds from between the dots. All the windows don’t need dots. If you’ve lived in a place for a while you know where the birds hit and only those windows or portions need to be dotted. On a big pane it might only be necessary to do a small portion of the window. As for the neighbours, I’ve had one visitor comment “Oh you’ve put snowflakes on the windows. How Christmassy!” I then explained the dots were up year round for the birds. And after my explanation I could tell that, although not convinced to do it herself, she knew the cause was worthy. So, if you choose to go dotty get yourself some liquid or dry tempera paint from a hobby supply store then use rubber gloves or bare fingers (tempera paint is non-toxic and removes with water) to apply the dots to the OUTSIDE of the offending windows. And together let’s get that number of bird window deaths down to a respectable 3 million or so. 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