Window strike

[Analoguesat]

A couple of days ago I was sitting in the living room. There was an almighty thump, and as I glanced up towards the window a very large raptor flew off.

With a brown back & definite bars on the tail Im almost certain it was a buzzard - probably a juvenile. There are plenty of buzzards in the valley - we hear their lovely mewing calls very often, but Ive never seen one anywhere near the house before. Gliding over a few hundred feet up yes, in the garden no.

Anyone else had anything slightly unusual crash into a window?

(We have had a swallow and a bat in the bedroom before now - the silly things flew in through the open window....)

[rolf]

Had a Pigeon over the weekend on the kitchen window, but my main windows have UV stickers on them to warn birds away.

Your bird could have been a Hen Harrier or Goshawk, they would be more likely chasing something. Or perhaps a female Sparrowhawk?

[Catherine]

We have Buzzards above us often too, and once witnessed a chase involving a Buzzard and a very large Corvid, causing both birds just to miss our upstairs windows!

However, re. window strikes, I guess the strangest one was a Tawny Owl in Ayr (see first two pics below) Unless light reflected form the street light had bounced off the window, we thought it strange that it should happen at night!

The third and fourth pics show the dust imprint made when a Collared Dove or Wood Pigeon hit another window at the front.

No birds were injured in the making of these pics - or at least they flew away afterwards!

[Analoguesat]

Those ghostly patterns are quite pretty Catherine.

We had a female blackbird crash into the window a few years ago. The poor thing was looking sorry for itself in the flower bed but within 30 seconds or so it had recovered and flew off into the hedge.

@Rolf - Hen Harriers are exceedingly rare up here - too many grouse moors around the area This area still has dreadful persecution of raptors....

[ladylouise62]

I had a female blackcap back in the summer, but don't seem to get them. The last one I remember before that was a couple of years ago, and since I've spent a lot of time in the house over the last couple of years. I reckon it's because I never wash the windows so they can't see through

Those marks left by the birds are amazing, Catherine! All I ever got was a small round oily smudge - yours both look like the birds, almost like a line drawing.

[Catherine]

Well, that Tawny Owl hit a mucky window - silly thing! I guess it proves Owls can't REALLY see in the dark!

I have another good dust print of a Dove/Pigeon- but I can't find it just now...

[rolf]

They're some great images Catherine, here's our current one, made by a pigeon.

[ladylouise62]

Bloody hell, you can even see the eye really well!!!

[rolf]

Yes, surprising how clear it is.

[Catherine]

And your windows were CLEAN!

[rolf]

Thanks to the window cleaner.

[ladylouise62]

LOL, my excuse for having dirty windows is that the birds won't then fly into them... honest!

[Catherine]

But ours was dirty when the Owl flew into it, Louise!!!

(Of course, he may not have gone to Specsavers..... )

[ladylouise62]

Ah, but there is 'dirty' and there is "...oh, that's glass is it, I thought it was a wall"