It is estimated that about 1 billion birds are killed by run-ins with man-made objects, like glass windows, each year. Since bird’s eyes see the world much differently than us birds cannot distinguish a reflection from reality or glass as a solid object. Mostly in the day, birds mistake reflections on the glass for open air. At night highrise lights and reflections confuse them causing a crash. In a city as big as Colorado Springs–these run-ins are a big issue. This is because birds are disappearing at an alarming rate from strikes on windows.
Bird Strikes Disportionately Occur with Migratory Birds
During the day bird strikes typically occur with birds that live and breed in the area. A night, however, the most frequent collisions are migratory birds. Since the majority of migratory birds fly at night and use stars, the moon, and their reflection of the water–man-made lights disorient them and, sadly, even attract them. This attraction to lights is instinctual to birds through evolution, so changing their behavior is not an option. As cities in the US get more crowded bird mortality from window collisions make up about 9 percent of migratory bird mortality here. Our beloved feathered friends are dying at a rapid clip. This could be an extinction-level event for some species of birds which affects humans too. Birds keep our ecosystems balanced by eating insects and vermin among other things.
The Solution to Migratory BirdStrikes
You can DIY solutions to prevent birds from colliding with your home. But probably not your commercial windows. But DIY deterrents are usually unsightly and don’t work great: painting the glass of your windows, putting up netting, building awnings. By far the most effective strategy is actually fritted window film or bird strike window film. When applied to windows, these films are visible to birds. “Fritting” is the tiny dots on the film laid out in a grid-like pattern/ As a human you will barely know it is there, but to birds, it makes the difference between life and death. An excellent solution on residential properties and even better for commercial structures, you could say bird strike window film is a no-brainer! It prevents damage to your building and preserves our gorgeous, Colorado Springs habitat! But probably the best reason is doing it for the birds! Our fine-feathered friends, make a lovely addition to the Colorado Springs sky and the world at large and just need a little human help to keep soaring overhead.
For more information on fritted birdstrike films for your home or business, contact us today at Greenlight Window Films Colorado Springs!