"Curtains" for outdoor arena mirrors?

[Libby2563]

I just built a 60’ wall of mirrors on my short side and I’m looking for a way to protect them from the weather and to protect the birds, who have been using them to commit suicide (the frozen dead bluebird almost broke my heart). I am the only one who uses the ring so it will not be a big deal to cover and uncover them. Has anyone done this? Here are a couple ideas I’ve had but I’d love to hear yours.

1. Roll-up blinds? But I would need to add magnets or velcro to secure the sides and bottom against the wind, and that would probably impede the rolling.

2. Not sure how to describe this…some sort of sliding curtain business with grommets at top and bottom of the curtain and either a rail or a rope to slide them along, plus a way to secure the curtains open and closed.

Any ideas?

[Helicon]

I put one of those owls with a wobbly head on top of my mirror. He did drive a mockingbird crazy for a couple months… but other than that, there have been no casualties since his installation.

[Libby2563]

Ooh, thank you, Helicon! That’s a great idea to solve at least part of the problem! I’m sure my horse will think it’s going to eat him for weeks but if it saves some little feathered lives it will be worth it!

[Crockpot]

I think you could use tarps -cheap and already have grommets- and they could slide top and bottom on rope or wire. Anchored top and bottom they would not blow around .

[Ambitious_Kate]

Heh, heh, - you think your horse thinks an owl is going to eat him, wait until he gets a load of those tarps. Then, once he gets used to them, just wait until the day you take them down and the mirrors magically appear.

I would leave the mirrors up. Add owls if necessary.

[FineAlready]

Curtain with rod on top and bottom?

[sid]

[QUOTE=FineAlready;8010571]
Curtain with rod on top and bottom?[/QUOTE]

I think that is a very good and economical idea. I have plywood, hinged covers for my indoor arena mirros. I have a sprinker system so the whole indoor and the mirror covers were coated with polyeurothane, but that would not hold up to the rain/moisture in this outdoor situation.

It would be really neat if the farm logo could be put on the curtains, too.:yes:

[sid]

BTW, I’ve never found a fake owl to stop birds. They know it’s fake. I had a pigeon problem for awhile in my indoor and only when the REAL owls moved in did my problem go away… :lol:

[x-halt-salute]

I don’t know how effective the “owl” scarecrows are, but the local Audubon Society recommends these UV cling decals for bird strikes on windows, and I imagine they’d have a similar effect for mirrors.

I haven’t used them, but have seen them in person at an Audubon Society event and while you’d probably be able to see them, they are pretty much transparent to the human eye.

There are also riggings called “Acopian Bird Savers” that are really just a series of vertical strings a few inches apart that are supposed to be very effective. I imagine you could rig something like this for your mirrors cheaply and easily, and anchor both the top and the bottom of the strings so they don’t blow around too much. There’s more information here.

Cheers for thinking about the birds! And good luck finding the right solution.

[Libby2563]

Thanks all! I like the sliding curtain or tarp idea, as long as I can secure them well enough. (This is salient today because we’ve been having 30+ mph winds for the last 24 hours with 60 mph gusts…yuck.) I need to figure out the logistics.

x-halt: I did think of decals but thought they might be too distracting/intrusive. Thanks for tipping me off about the less visible ones, and the other options!

[Blugal]

Hey OP, I wonder if I could pick your brain a little on the actual sourcing, cost, and installation of your mirrors? by PM?

[alfonsina]

Been through this a bit with a house whose windows at the front and back of the house line up so the birds seem to see it as a tunnel. Tried the decals, but they are quite expensive and need to be replaced often (every 3 months or something) according to instructions.

I’m on Audubon and Cornell ornithology email lists and found a dirt cheap idea there that actually has worked well. This is to hang strings vertically every 4" over the window. I just thumbtacked them at the top of the windows. I will do them over again sometime to attach them both at the top and bottom as sometimes in a breeze they tangle up with each other. They could of course be attached instead to a strip of wood or whatever.

Another idea also via Audubon is to put window screening on a frame that is held 2" or 3" or 4" in front of your mirrors. That might be a more permanent fix.

Good for you for helping the birds. The population drop in our native songbirds is really heartbreaking.