Making windows safe for birds this fall

Black and white warbler
Photo by Sunny Kellner, Sharon Audubon Center
Whack! The sudden and dramatic sound against your living room window brings you hurrying in to see what occurred.
As you look toward the ground, you see something – a bird! – and rush to its aid, hoping it didn’t hit hard enough to kill it. You have seen this happen in the past, where a bird hitting this exact windowpane was momentarily immobilized before flying off.
This time, however, the spectacularly small black and white bird you hold lies motionless in your hands.
Unfortunately, this experience is not an uncommon one. Window collisions are a leading cause of bird mortality ,behind habitat loss and cat attacks, killing as many as a billion birds annually.
That’s right. One billion. Such a number is borderline incomprehensible.What’s happening to cause such a staggering mortality rate?
Birds cannot see glass. When they look at it, they see one of two things: nothing at all, which might indicate a safe corridor for them to fly through, or the reflection of their surrounding landscape.
Both scenarios are highly problematic. Perhaps unsurprisingly, research has thus concluded that most window collisions occur at residential and low-rise buildings where sheet glass and plastic are widely used, often where good habitat is present.
Collisions tend to increase during spring and fall migration when birds are moving to the wintering grounds, but also during the breeding season when fledglings are learning to navigate their world.
Fortunately, we as homeowners, businesses owners, and people who simply appreciate the joy that birds bring us can take simple steps to reduce window collisions.
The first step is selecting a product that makes glass visible to birds. These include decals, strings, washable window paint, dots, and films that are often inconspicuous to us but highly visible to birds.
Second, the spacing of the items should be no more than 2 inches vertically and 4 inches horizontally to reduce the chance of birds flying through an opening.
These barriers should always be placed on the outside of the window.
For a full list of options to make your windows bird-safe, visit The Acopian Center for Ornithology’s website at: www.aco.muhlenberg.edu
A final step we can take is making our windows safer for birds is considering our bird feeders.
Research recommends placing your feeder either within three feet of the nearest window (so that birds don’t injure themselves upon liftoff) or more than 30 feet away so that feeding birds have plenty of distance to clear the house.
If you have a lot of birds visiting your yard, consider the potential impact of these solutions.
And that’s just in one yard! The cumulative impact for towns across our county, state, and nation could save many millions of birds each year.
Remember that scenario of the small black and white bird? She’s a real bird. Except in the real story, she survived and is currently receiving care in our wildlife rehabilitation clinic at Sharon Audubon Center.
Black and White Warblers will fly as far as Ecuador in South America, where they will overwinter in the lush tropical forests feeding on insects. She may yet have a long journey ahead of her. Let us all do our part to give birds like her a better chance.
To learn about making windows safer for birds, there is a program at the Sharon Audubon Center on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 10 a.m. For more information go to www.Sharon.audubon.org/events.
Bethany Sheffer is Volunteer Coordinator and Naturalist at the Sharon Audubon Center. Vicki Dauphinais of the Litchfield Hills Audubon Society contributed to this article.
PINE PLAINS — The Pine Plains FFA Ag Fair brought a crowd to the high school on Church Street Saturday, Oct. 11.
Kicking off the day was the annual tractor pull, attracting a dedicated crowd that sat in bleachers and folding chairs for hours watching Allison-Chalmers, International Harvesters and John Deeres compete to pull the heaviest weights.
A large collection of food was on offer from the Pine Plains FFA and each one of the classes in the Pine Plains Central School District. The football team was selling pickles.
Stissing Mountain High School Principal Christopher Boyd enjoyed a dip in the dunk tank to raise money for the Pine Plains teachers’ union-sponsored scholarship.
Stissing Mountain High School Principal Christopher Boyd got dunked several times during his half-hour shift in the dunk tank. Proceeds from the throws benefitted the Photo by Nathan Miller
The Rev. AJ Stack, center right, blessing a chicken at the pet blessing event at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia on Saturday, Oct. 4.
AMENIA — After serving more than five years as Priest-in-Charge of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia, the Rev. AJ Stack announced Tuesday, Oct. 7, that he will resign from the church and Food of Life/Comida de Vida pantry. His last day at his current post will be Sunday, Nov. 2, the conclusion of the Feast of All Saints.
The news was shared in two emails from Stack — one to Food of Life pantry subscribers and volunteers, and another to parish members.
“I write tonight with difficult news, and I wanted you to hear it from me as soon as the Vestry and I had a chance to meet,” he wrote. “After much prayer and careful discernment, I have submitted my resignation to the Vestry as Priest-in-Charge of St. Thomas, and therefore as Executive Director of Food of Life/Comida de Vida.”
Stack provided few details about his departure. At time of publication, he had not announced his next steps but said the decision was “not sudden,” and followed careful consideration over a period of months. He will not be leaving the area or the diocese.
An announcement about his path forward and the transition process is expected soon. In the meantime, Stack said he remains “fully present” at the church, and the food pantry services will continue without interruption.
Stack expressed gratitude for the community and the growth of St. Thomas’ mission during his tenure. “Together we have welcomed new neighbors and strengthened our outreach in meaningful ways,” he said. “I trust that good work will continue.”
He joined St. Thomas in March 2020 and guided the church and community through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a recent interview with The News about the food pantry, Stack estimated that it serves 653 individuals from 156 households each week, highlighting a significant contribution to the community.
The announcement was met with messages of reassurance from pantry volunteers. Jolly Stewart, a Vestry member and volunteer, wrote to the community with words of reassurance following the announcement. “I have complete faith in the strength of the parish of St. Thomas,” she wrote. “Our history shows how we have done this time and again, each time becoming more than what we were before. We can, without a doubt, do this now.”
MILLERTON — Ten candidates for office in the Nov. 4 election will answer questions from Dutchess County voters at a candidate forum on Friday, Oct. 24, at the Annex at the NorthEast-Millerton Library located at 28 Century Blvd.
The forum, which is sponsored by the library, will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Candidates for local and county offices will answer questions from residents in attendance or from residents who have submitted questions in advance.
“We’re excited to keep the tradition of the candidate forum going,” said Rhiannon Leo-Jameson, director of the library. “Some years we can’t always get candidates together.”
This year’s forum will include:
Rachele Grieco Cole, a Democrat, and Chris Mayville, a Republican, who both are running uncontested for the North East Town Council;
Casey McCabe, a Democrat, also running uncontested for North East Justice.
Among Dutchess County races:
Tracy MacKenzie, who is endorsed by Republicans and Democrats, is running uncontested for Dutchess County Family Court Judge;
Kara Gerry, a Democrat, and Ned McLoughlin, a Republican, are in a contest for a Dutchess County Court judgeship currently held by McLoughlin.
Chris Drago, D-19, and Tonya Pulver, a Republican, are competing to represent Dutchess County’s19th District seat currently held by Drago.
Democratic incumbent Dan Aymar-Blair and Will Truitt, the Republican chair of the county legislature, are competing for the Dutchess County Comptroller position currently held by Aymar-Blair.
Leo-Jameson is encouraging questions for the candidates to be submitted in advance, which will not be revealed to candidates beforehand. Dutchess County residents may pose questions during the forum. To submit a question on the library’s website, go to the calendar at nemillertonlibrary.org and find the link in the Oct. 24calendar entries.
The format calls for opening statements from the candidates, followed by questions from residents, and candidates will be able to stay after the forum to answer questions personally.
The residence at 35 Amenia Union Road in Sharon was damaged after being struck by the Jeep Grand Cherokee around 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11.
SHARON, Conn. — Emergency crews were called Saturday, Oct. 11, to Amenia Union Road in Sharon for a report of a vehicle into a building with entrapment.
Connecticut State Police reported Charles Teti, 62, was driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Amenia Union Road when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle veered across the southbound land and exited the roadway where it struck a tree and home. Airbags deployed.
Teti and front seat passenger Aidan Cassidy, 63, sustained serious injuries. Teti was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and Cassidy was transported by ambulance to Sharon Hospital for treatment.
Back seat passenger Shea Cassidy-Teti, 17, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on scene. Cassidy-Teti was a senior at Kent School. He played on the football and tennis teams.
The residence that was struck is located at 35 Amenia Union Road.
The case remains under open investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Lukas Gryniuk at Troop B 860-626-1821.