Expert Says Glass Is Major Threat to Birds 170
dlkf writes "According this AP article, 'Glass is ubiquitous and it's indiscriminate, killing the fit and the unfit... estimates (are) that collisions with glass kill up to 1 billion birds a year in the United States alone.' First wind turbines and now glass. What will they come up with next..."
Heh... (Score:3, Insightful)
I guess they can't cite guns... (Score:2)
(Cue gun-rights flamewar, grin, duck, run
What you can't see... (Score:3, Funny)
"Look mommy a dead parrot!"
NarratorDan
Re:What you can't see... (Score:2)
Re:What you can't see... (Score:2, Funny)
Owner : (turning around, very angry) What do you mean, "miss"?
Mr. Praline : I'm sorry, I have a cold. (The owner nods, understanding.) I wish to make a complaint!
Owner : (hurriedly) Sorry, we're closin' for lunch...!
Mr. Praline : Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this parrot, what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.
Owner : Oh
Legislation is the answer (Score:5, Funny)
The greedy Glass manufacturing Corperations are out to ruin our envrionment !.
Imagine the bird killing power of... (Score:2, Funny)
Wait, that's called a "building". Never mind.
Natural alarm clock (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Natural alarm clock (Score:2)
This is very common for certain types of birds during mating season. For weeks this one bird flew into my bedroom window repeatedly at 7 in the morning. Eventually I put up something opaque behind the window and it got the idea that it was not seeing a potential mate there.
not much can be done about this (Score:4, Insightful)
Much of the time, my sympathies lie mostly with the animals; but in this case, they're kinda on their own. Survival of the fittest...
May they all live long enough to have more sex than I do...
(Which leads me to a deep thought: right now, at this very moment, millions (billions?) of creatures are having sex. None of them are me.)
Goddamn I need sleep...
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:3, Funny)
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:2)
Only the strong hearted birds live!
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:4, Funny)
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:1)
It's outside of the USA, end of story. (-: (Score:2)
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:2)
We do have shirts for kids: "Austria: We don't have any kangaroos!"
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:2)
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:2)
Did you know the grandparent is from Australia [slashdot.org]? Note the '.au' at the end of his domain. So, which country are you from, so we can mock you now?
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:4, Insightful)
You're right--it won't go away. Just like that pesky desire to pollute or to take over all arable land. However, desires can be curbed, and it is a mark of civilization that we do curb our desires and don't live out every one of them.
In the case of glass, there are plenty of architectural ways in which we can have brightly lit dwellings with gorgeous views without creating traps for birds.
Much of the time, my sympathies lie mostly with the animals; but in this case, they're kinda on their own. Survival of the fittest...
Humans are fittest, for now, so, yes, we can kill off all other (large) animals. Trouble is, in the long run, that is not an adaptive strategy for us: we are dependent on a functioning environment. So, what you suggest, namely not worrying about the survival of animals, is, in the long run, maladaptive for us: it will bring about our own extinction.
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course, simply having vertical blinds, Venitian blinds, or sheer curtains on the inside will probably already reduce the problem: they look like a solid surface from the outside but stil give you a good view from the inside. Even bug screens probably make windows a little more visible and less reflective from the outside and cushion any collision.
I suspect birds hitting windows is mostly a problem with modern office buildings, where there is lots of glass, plenty of energy-efficient (=mirror-like) outside coatings, no curtains, and no bug screens.
Just do what my grandmother does (Score:4, Funny)
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:2, Funny)
That may not be really all that long you know... you are a nerd after all
Windows are good (Score:2)
I guess it'd be ok to complain about glass that's not for seeing through but is just decorative like on some skyscrapers...
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:2)
Of course not. You're reading slashdot. ;-)
Re:not much can be done about this (Score:2)
[Advice for male birds] I think the solution is to not have sexy pictures of birds that can be easily seen from outside.
[Advice for female birds] I have to wonder if the birds that impact airplanes are all female. After all, don't they all look like giant penises as they come towards you?
In Other News... (Score:3, Funny)
Eating a leading cause of Heart Disease, Wisconsin man discovers that a red cape will not let you fly, Running full force into a wall "really DOES hurt" according to Arkansas resident, and Kids say the cutest things!!
yeesh.
Sera
What of it (Score:4, Interesting)
Call it evolution in action
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Many of us will have seen several, if not dozens of birds killed by cats. How many have you seen killed by glass? Personally, I have seen maybe 1 or 2 in my lifetime.
Evolution in action? If several whole species get completely wiped out from an ecosystem, then I wouldn't call that evolution.
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Re:What of it (Score:2)
After all, the stupid birds should have just evolved kevlar feathers.
Putting glass in the flight path of birds is not going to make birds evolve because (one can safely assume) none of them have the advantage of being able to identify and steer clear of glass.
Re:What of it (Score:2)
And he's exactly right. Evolution of species happens largely because of environmental pressures. Plenty of food? Species get bigger. Not much food? Species get smaller. Humans put enormous evolutionary pressure on many species. Those that adapt quickly do well (common pigeons). The others...
Re:What of it (Score:2)
This is more true of individuals than species.
Those that adapt quickly do well (common pigeons).
As far as the rock dove is concerned, it did not have to adapt in order to live in cities because it was already well suited to the environment; these birds like buildings because they resemble cliffs and they will readily nest on the abundant ledges thereon.
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Re:What of it (Score:2)
I do try to be accurate, so let me know where you think these inaccuracies lie - I can handle it.
what is your point?
To refute your examples.
Of course environmental pressures impact on the evolutionary development of species, but in order to be useful, the word evolution should be reserved to describe modification of species to become more or less fit for their environment.
I don't think that you could use the word evolution to describe a successf
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Maybe I have lost some of my skill with the written language, but I still can't see where in my post I said this.
There have been plenty of studies that show how species can adjust their own numbers based on availability of food but where are the studies that show an increase or decrease in size of a species? I don't think your two paragraphs of homespun rhetoric really cut the mustard.
We aren't distinct from
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Re:What of it (Score:2)
I haven't got time to respond to all this paranoid, bunker-mentality poo, though.
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Re:What of it (Score:2)
These contradictions are imagined.
you didn't seem too interested in holding up your end of the debate
Simply put, you started investing so much time in your posts that to answer each point would take more time than I have to spare.
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Also, from what I've seen written, birds don't actually last that long after they've hit a window. It messes them up pretty bad. They probably make it to a tree somewhere, where they keel over and die.
This is, incidentally, the whole point of the article -- that birds are dying, not that they're getting massive headaches.
Re:What of it (Score:2)
If you start putting values on one species over another you are missing the point. Evolution makes no such judgements.
(P.S that includes the human race too)
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Don't tell the anti-gun nuts, they'll ban fingers next.
So do domestic cats (Score:2)
Neighbour's used to catch crows (ravens in .uk) (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Neighbour's used to catch crows (ravens in .uk) (Score:2)
Or did you mean that your neighbours cat would generally catch crows, exccept when it was in the UK, when it would go for the ravens?
Re:Neighbour's used to catch crows (ravens in .uk) (Score:2)
Also ravens are bigger and typically smarter than crows.
http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna
Re:What of it (Score:2)
Birds? (Score:4, Funny)
In any event, this doesn't affect me. My cats will take down anything within a 100-ft radius of the house, so my windows stay thud-free.
Re:Birds? News? (Score:2)
Some years ago, one of the tasts that I had involved occasionally delivering some equipment for events at a nearby synagogue. The only place to park and unload was next to a glass wall that had two glass doors. One evening, when backing out in the dark, I didn't notice that the door was still open. Crunch!
The next day, when I went in to talk to the rabbi about it, first his secretary and then he laugh
Re:No kidding (Score:2, Informative)
Thankfully, a low-tech solution is available - just put a damn sticker on the glass on or about average eye level. Works every time.
Birds and windows (Score:5, Informative)
Secondly, most birds that conservationists (and yes, we are as scientific and geeky as the average /. er) are really worried about don't live in built-up areas so the impact with glass is likely to be less of a problem.
Thirdly, window stickers (especially those shaped like a hawk) can sharply reduce the level of impacts especially against windows that look like a fly-through to somewhere else.
And finally, when you find a bird that hit a window, someone will say it's broken its neck. Not so. Birds' necks are much longer and more flexible than most people realise until they see a lolling corpse. The commonest cause of death against a window is brain haemorrage.
Re:Birds and windows (Score:2)
Oh, that makes me feel so much better.
Re:Birds and windows (Score:2, Interesting)
a few weeks ago, I was sitting on the computer (what else), when I heard a *thud* and the entire house shook. it was like an earthquake.
the cause? a local bird (I don't know what they're called. think really big, really fat pheasant) had flown into one of the exterior walls. not a window, mind, a wall. It sat there for about 10 minutes, stunned (time enough for me to take pics of it demolishing a tomato vine), then it stood up, wandered around my yard for a while, and flew off.
I know ho
Re:Birds and windows (Score:2)
I dunno, I usually sit on a chair or something, they're usually much more comfortable than a computer. You should try it sometime...
Re:Birds and windows (Score:2, Informative)
True, but they migrate through them. The major cities of the Eastern US are on a huge flyway, for example, which is one reason there's a National Wildlife Refuge inside the New York City limits.
Re:Birds and windows (Score:2)
Large tall glass buildings are particularly bad because they're (1) large, (2) tall, (3) glass, and definitely (4) illuminated at night. This site [learner.org] talks about the problem and programs (like FLAP [flap.org]) to turn off lights at night, especially during migration and rescue the not-dead-yet injured birds.
I've known this for years... (Score:1)
Re:I've known this for years... (Score:2)
flamingoes (Score:2)
Re:flamingoes (Score:2)
Sandhill Cranes (Score:2)
Alaska Bugs Sweat Gold Nuggets [alaska-freegold.com]
/ME waves from Oz... (Score:2)
Another reason not to use Windows! (Score:5, Funny)
Ron
Re:Another reason not to use Windows! (Score:2)
New bumper sticker (Score:2)
"Glass manufacturers release new bumper sticker: Glass doesn't kill birds, I kill birds!"
But the impact patterns are BEAUTIFUL! (Score:4, Interesting)
But back when they were happening, the birds left a beautiful dust pattern on the windows as they hit. It captured incredible levels of detail to the feathers, etc.
uh huh (Score:2)
Re:uh huh (Score:2)
This is just another excuse for my neighbor who "loves animals" to not remove the half-inch layer of dirt from her windows.
Why do you care how much dirt is on your neighbor's window?
Are you the neighborhood cleanliness enforcer or the neighborhood peeping tom?
hard-headed Black Woodpecker (Score:3, Interesting)
The bird probably survived because woodpeckers should be well equipped to deal with head-shocking events.
It's not often that you get to see these birds close up, not to mention hold them and quitely look at them. Quite an experience.
Gee, we've killed about all of the preditors (Score:2)
News@11... (Score:2)
Re:News@11... (Score:2)
Next (Score:2)
The obvious answer (Score:2)
Great googly moogly
One hit per hour (Score:2)
But there are still plenty of those species. I'm more worried about some that have utterly disapeared in the 15 years I was away: no more swallows for instance. Global warming or excessive use of bug spray ?
Re:One hit per hour (Score:2)
Don't worry, they'll be back... and they'll hopefully bring plenty of coconuts with them.
Not just birds - deer too (Score:2)
One of my neighbors had a 200-lb buck break through a sliding glass door into their living room, stomp around for a bit (spraying arterial blood over pretty much everything), and promptly leave. They think he might have been attracted by a miniature orange tree in their house. The buck died from blood loss about 10 feet from their house. They added curtains and a bunch of distracting plants in about a week.
Moral of the story - if people want to fix the problem of things hitting glass, they'll probably nee
Re:Not just birds - deer too (Score:2)
PETA (Score:2)
Not the who story (Score:2)
For animals, an increase in the food supply usually means increased reproduction. So does this really have any impact on the birds population, or is it an increase in turnover?
Poem (Score:4, Interesting)
I was the shadow of the waxwing slain
By the false azure in the windowpane;
I was the smudge of ashen fluff--and I
Lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky.
And from the inside, too, I'd duplicate
Myself, my lamp, an apple on a plate:
Uncurtaining the night, I'd let dark glass
Hang all the furniture above the grass,
And how delightful when a fall of snow
Covered my glimpse of lawn and reached up so
As to make chair and bed exactly stand
Upon that snow, out in that crystal land!
Great book!
CR@P (Score:2)
Why not come to the aid of earthworms (which are far more beneficial then most birds) and tell everyone not to walk on the ground after it rains?
To keep most birds from running into
Re:CR@P (Score:2)
Humans ARE natural. Humans evolved within, and continue to exist within, nature. Claiming otherwise is the height of egotism, as well as the same sort of mentality that people use to divorce themselves from the damage they do to the environment. Anyone who thinks humans are not part of nature are free to try to exist outside the food chain.
Allision sensors anyone ? (Score:2)
(What is an allision? When something bumps into a stationary object it is an allision, not a collision.)
From the obvious(tm) department... (Score:2)
Go read a book. (Score:2)
Re:Go read a book. (Score:2)
Leading to extinction is a possible outcome of natural selection. You still seem to misunderstand how it works. If you can't see a window, and it kills you, then the birds who CAN vaugely sense it will survive. Windows don't kill bats, for example, because they developed echo-location. The birds
Linux is the solution. (Score:2)
Sorry it had to be said
Re:and killing birds is bad... why? (Score:1)
Re:and killing birds is bad... why? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:small potatos (Score:2)
Eight billion chickens and a quarter billion turkeys are slaughtered annually by the poultry industry in the US.
How in the world do they catch all those wild chickens and turkeys? More importantly, how have I managed to not hit even one of these 8.25 billion fowl with my car yet?
What? You mean that they're *NOT* wild birds? They're farmed? Farmed as in brought into existence by humans expressly for the purpose of feeding humans?
Then what are you on about?
Re:small potatos (Score:2)
Re:small potatos (Score:2)
It's called the food chain for a reason.
A Bugg
Re:small potatos (Score:2)
Minor complaint: If you look at relationships of what all the various organisms eat, it will look nothing like a linear chain. It's a complex network. "Food chain" is a misnomer.
Re:small potatos (Score:2)
If God had wanted us to eat animals, he would have made them out of meat.
Re:small potatos (Score:2)
Re:[OT] Congrats (Score:2)
Well, off to make some Shells & Chreese!
Re:David Attenborough's "The Death of Birds" (Score:2)
I've been a vegan since 1984.
That means that I don't eat anything that comes from an animal, not meat, not seafood, not even milk, eggs, honey, or bee pollen.
I don't even use refined sugar, because animal charcoal is used as part of the refining process.
I don't wear leather shoes or a leather belt.
I don't have any pets because I consider it animal slavery.
I don't knowingly use products that were tested on animals, when I can help i