Daniel,
Have you thought of contacting volunteer wildlife care groups? WIRES (NSW
Wildlife Information and Rescue Service) would have hundreds of records of
bird collisions. Their email address is wires@ zeta.org.au. The Blue
Mountains branch address is PO Box 146, Lawson NSW 2783, Australia.
I reckon that many species which live or travel close to buildings would at
one time or another collide with windows but fast-flying species are more
likely to be injured or killed. In my area parrots, cuckoos, silvereyes,
pardalotes, kingfishers and quail/button quail are some of the birds which
seem to be particularly susceptible.
You wrote: "Fundamentally, birds simply do not see glass as a barrier and
frequently injure or kill themselves striking window panes in homes and
other buildings." May I add that the problem in many cases is the
reflection of the sky and trees in windows rather than birds seeing right
through the glass. The reflection problem seems to be worst on overcast
days. Regarding not cleaning windows, unfortunately I haven't found this to
help much. Dirty windows still reflect the sky and trees when the light
conditions are right. And all the rain we get here washes a lot of the dirt
off.
Just yesterday I heard an almighty THUD on the front window. Straight away
I rushed outside to find some feathers from an immature Crimson Rosella
stuck to the window, but despite thorough searching, no bird. It obviously
was able to fly away, which was surprising from the sound of the collision.
Poor bird must have had a huge headache, if it survived.
Hope this information helps.
Regards,
Carol
Carol Probets
Katoomba NSW
Australia
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