and on a related note...

This is a pretty cool idea.











WindowAlert is a unique, electrostatic, low-tack decal that may be applied to home or office windows. The decal contains a component which brilliantly reflects ultraviolet sunlight. This ultraviolet light is invisible to humans, but glows brilliantly for birds.

Death by Glass

Glass is ubiquitous and it's indiscriminate, killing the fit and the unfit," said Klem, a Muhlenberg College ornithologist who estimates that collisions with glass kill up to 1 billion birds a year in the United States alone.

"Buildings that we have created to be aesthetically pleasing are slaughtering birds." Although cell phone towers, oil spills and power lines raise the ire of conservation groups, those hazards pale in comparison to glass, Klem said. He estimates that only habitat destruction kills more birds.

When glass is clear, birds see only what's on the other side; when it is reflective, birds see only reflected sky and trees. Either way, they have little chance of survival."

I found it particularly ironic that:

...glass-walled structures abound even in places that rejoice in wildlife - from Central and South American ecotourism sites to Pennsylvania wildlife refuges.