Thursday, February 26, 2015

No permission needed!


Even though my bird feeder is over 30 feet from my house, the birds are on a feeding frenzy after the 6 inches of snow we received last night.  For the first time, a bird hit a window at my house.  After I heard that dreaded thud, I found a Tufted Titmouse sitting stunned in the snow below my window.  Luckily after about 20 minutes, it flew away. 

I grabbed a ladder and a bar of Ivory soap, went outside, and did this to the windows.  Such a simple and inexpensive fix!  If you love feeding birds and seeing them out your window, grab a bar of soap and use it on the outside of your windows that are near the bird feeder(s).  Just be sure the soap is applied with less than 4 inch gaps.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

VTCRC bird deaths - Year One Totals

Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC)

Bird-window collision deaths by building (October '13 to October '14)


*corrected for uneven survey effort

Locations of bird-window deaths represented by green stars. Locations not exact, but are true to the side of the building, not necessarily specific windows.


Below is a map of the VTCRC with associated building numbers.



Bird deaths by month

 

*corrected for uneven survey effort

 

Photo: Kara K.

Mourning Dove (Bldg. 20A).

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

NY law limits light pollution at state buildings

"Sen. Carl Marcellino says his bill requires the use of shielded lights on the exterior of state buildings, directing lighting downward onto streets, walkways and public spaces.
Marcellino says unshielded lighting causes something called sky glow. That obscures night sky views and creates road glare. He says excessive outdoor lighting causes over 100 million bird fatalities across the United States annually."
 http://www.wkbw.com/news/state-news/law-limits-light-pollution-on-state-buildings


"On Dec. 17, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into passage the Dark Skies bill, which will require all state-funded new and replacement outdoor lighting to conform with new design specifications to reduce ambient light. The new fixtures will be shielded and focus light downward rather than dispersing it skyward. The new-model lights are expected to save more money over the long run than their initial cost. The bill includes replacing newer LED lights, which produce a damaging glare (including to human eyes) because of their high percentage of blue-spectrum light."
 http://metroland.net/2015/01/08/in-darkness-we-trust/