Last week, AWA and Bird TLC co-hosted an incredible event to promote bird safety in Alaska. We shared a screening of Broken Flight, which highlights the work of avian advocates who rescue birds that collide with Chicago’s buildings, followed by a discussion with Alaska bird-experts, including filmmaker Erika Valenciana, Dr. Karen Higgs, DVM with Bird Treatment and Learning Center, Tamara Zeller, Division of Migratory Bird Management with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Arin Underwood with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Threatened, Endangered, and Diversity program.
Our bird experts shared numerous tips to help keep Alaska’s birds safe from window strikes, pets, and other threats. We compiled the top tips and resources below! Read on to learn how you can help migrating birds this year.
Found an injured bird? Jump down to learn what you should do from Bird TLC!
AWA’s Top Tips to Help Keep Birds Safe
Bird-proof your windows
Unfortunately, birds can't see glass windows—only the reflections of the landscape or sky behind them. This causes disorientation, and birds will often fly into windows, causing concussions, trauma, and death. Chicago’s skyscrapers, featured in Broken Flight, are infamous bird-killers; McCormick Place Lakeside Center alone once killed over a thousand birds every year.
Thankfully, bird proofing your windows to prevent accidental strikes is easy and can be done with tape, decals, paint, or even fishing nets. After the application of bird-safe film to McCormick Place Lakeside Center, the annual death toll dropped from thousands to just 18.
Read on to learn how to bird-proof your windows!
Buy Bird-Friendly coffee and chocolate
There are plenty of ways you can help Alaska’s and the world’s birds with your purchasing power! Buying "Bird Friendly" coffee and chocolate, certified by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, ensures that your goods are grown in a way that supports birds.
Bird Friendly coffee and chocolate are certified organic and come from farms that provide forest-like habitats for birds. Bird Friendly products are shade-grown, meaning the coffee and cocoa are planted under a canopy of trees, rather than land that has been cleared of all other vegetation. Check out some Bird Friendly coffees and Bird Friendly chocolates!
Watch your Pets
Cats kill between 1.3 and 4 billion birds annually in the US alone. Help keep your neighborhood birds (and your kitty) safe by keeping them inside or only letting them out under supervision. Also, leash your dogs during migrating and breeding seasons, especially on beaches. When dogs chase birds, it forces them to use up precious energy reserves that are needed for migrating and nesting.
Use Bird-Safe Gear when Hunting and Fishing
Fishing line can get wrapped around birds’ legs and beaks, so make sure you pick up your own line and any other strands you see and dispose of them properly. Bird TLC has a great map of monofilament recycling bins in Anchorage.
Lead sinkers and weights are also incredibly toxic for birds. One lead sinker, if ingested, can kill a fully grown loon or eagle. Help Alaska’s birds out by switching to non-toxic sinkers and weights, like those made from ceramic, bismuth, tungsten, and steel. Head to Love a Loon to learn more.
Likewise, lead bullets are also very dangerous for birds, who will often eat them out of gut piles; a piece of lead the size of a grain of rice is enough to kill an eagle! To keep birds safe, use copper bullets instead. The Alaska Copper Ammo Challenge offers Alaskan hunters a rebate of up to $80 off two boxes of copper rifle ammunition or up to $50 off two boxes of bullets for reloading.
Get Involved with Citizen Science
Citizen science can help Alaskan birds by assisting researchers in collecting data on bird populations, migration patterns, and behaviors, which informs conservation efforts and helps us understand how birds are affected by environmental changes. There are several ways to get involved, including:
Birds ‘n’ Bogs - Hosted by one of our panelists, Arin Underwood, Birds ‘n’ Bogs is a volunteer-based effort to collect information on boreal birds in Southcentral Alaska. They host bird surveys at wetlands throughout the spring and early summer.
Audubon Christmas Bird Count - The nation's longest-running community science bird project fuels Audubon's work throughout the year. The Christmas Bird Count occurs December 14 to January 5 every year and helps determine trends and changes in bird populations.
Cornell Great Backyard Bird Count - Similar to Audubon’s bird count, this one takes place in February each year!
Alaska Bird Festivals - Alaska is home to numerous bird festivals, including the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, the Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival, the Yakutat Tern Festival, the Utqiaġvik Migratory Bird Festival, and the Tanana Valley Sandhill Crane Festival, among others. Attend one in your area to learn about your local migratory birds!
Ebird - Citizen science from your phone! Download Ebird and keep track of your bird sightings. The information gathered by the app has contributed to hundreds of conservation decisions and peer-reviewed papers, thousands of student projects, and help guides bird research worldwide.
How To Bird-Proof Windows
Millions of birds are killed each year flying into windows. You can help keep them safe by bird-proofing your windows. Here’s how:
Identify problem windows: Not all windows require bird-proofing. Highly reflective windows pose the biggest risk. Visible greenery, reflected landscapes, nearby birdfeeders or bird baths, or views that look into an adjacent side of your home also increase the chances that a certain window will see bird strikes. Past bird strikes or feather prints are also a sign that you may have a problem window.
Create visual barriers: Treat your problem windows with decals, stickers, ribbons, or fishing net to help birds see and avoid the glass. Visual barriers need to be at least 1/4 inch thick and spaced every 2 to 4 inches. Some options for barriers include:
Fishing nets - AWA is piloting a fishing net recycling program in Southcentral (Homer to Talkeetna)! Commercial fisherman donate their retired thin-filament nets for people to put over their windows as a method of reducing bird-window collisions. It’s been piloted in Soldotna with great success. Sign up to receive nets through our online form. We will have net delivery days throughout the year.
WindowAlert decals - These static-cling decals can be applied to home and office windows. The decals have a component that reflects ultraviolet sunlight, which is invisible to humans but glows like a stoplight to birds. The decals help birds identify and avoid windows.
Tempera paint - Tempera paint is long-lasting and non-toxic, and comes off with a damp sponge or rag. You can find it at most art supply stores.
Minimize interior and exterior lighting: Shut off lights during the spring and fall migration (the worst time of year for bird strikes), especially those near your identified problem windows.
Move houseplants: Keep houseplants away from problem windows.
To learn more about window collisions and how to bird-proof your windows, check out Why Birds Hit Windows—and How You Can Help Prevent It from CornellLab.
FOUND AN INJURED BIRD BY A WINDOW?
If you do find a bird that has flown into a window, here are some things you can do to help them!
1. If the bird is in an unsafe area, put them in a box and get them out of the elements.
2. Give the bird about an hour to recover. Sometimes they are just stunned and will fly away on their own.
3. If the bird is still there after an hour, or if there is obvious trauma like blood by the beak or disfigurement, bring the bird to Bird TLC in Anchorage, or another bird rehabilitation center near you.
Additional Resources and Programs
Want to learn more about Alaska’s birds and how to keep them safe? Check out these resources!
Bird Treatment and Learning Center - Bird TLC cares and advocates for Alaska’s wild birds through rehabilitation, education, and outreach. They care for over 500 birds a year with the goal of returning them to the wild.
Merlin Bird App - Merlin is a free bird app that helps you identify birds in your area, either by answering some short questions or by recording their songs and calls.
Ebird - Another free bird app! Download Ebird and keep track of your bird sightings. The information gathered by the app has contributed to hundreds of conservation decisions and peer-reviewed papers, thousands of student projects, and help guides bird research worldwide!
Love a Loon - Love a Loon runs Loons, Lines, and Lead, and helps educate people on how to keep birds safe from lead poisoning and fishing line entanglement.
Alaska Copper Ammo Challenge - They offer Alaskan hunters a rebate of up to $80 off two boxes of copper rifle ammunition or up to $50 off two boxes of bullets for reloading.
