Barriers and opportunities to preventing residential bird-window collisions

Anastasia Lysyk , Aalia I Khan, Deborah Conners, Rachel Buxton

Collisions with windows are a leading source of avian mortality in North America. Window treatment options are commercially available; however, these solutions are rarely used. To investigate knowledge and perceptions of bird-window collisions, willingness to treat windows, and barriers and solutions to treating windows we conducted a survey of residents in Ottawa, Canada. Of 422 survey respondents, 90.7% had previously heard of bird-window collisions, 58.5% had previously observed a collision, 88.0% consider collisions with windows to be an issue in Ottawa, and 87.0% were willing to treat their windows. For all survey respondents, the top barriers reducing willingness to treat windows included the perception that birds infrequently or never collide with windows (parameter estimate ± standard error, PE ± SE = -1.29 ± 0.54, p = 0.02), aesthetics (PE ± SE = -0.77 ± 0.31, p = 0.01), and wanting a clear view from windows (PE ± SE = -0.88 ± 0.25, p < 0.01). For those willing to treat their windows, lack of time was the most identified barrier (38.2%), while for those unwilling to treat their windows, the need for more evidence that bird-window collisions require action was most identified (49.1%). Top potential solutions were provision of free materials, aesthetically pleasing materials, and clear instructions. Our results suggest that Ottawa residents are generally willing to treat their windows at home and we identify key barriers between willingness and implementation. To encourage bird-friendly window treatment at a wider scale, we suggest targeted messaging highlighting the impact of low-rise housing in driving the problem and the solution to bird-window collisions. Our results also highlight the opportunity for advocacy groups to aid residents in overcoming practical barriers to treating their windows.