Jim Cubie, JD, is a consultant to the Muhlenberg College Center for Ornithology where he advises on bird safety and native plants.
Latest by this author
Here are five surprising ways to reconsider your backyard so it can promote native plants while also protecting wildlife.
By Daniel Klem Jr., Doug Tallamy and Jim Cubie in Environment | Earth Food Life Project | English | Guide to Climate and Environmental Action
Untreated windows can be deadly for wild birds—hummingbirds are particularly at risk.
James M. Cubie, JD, is a former chief counsel for the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. He has played a decisive role in the reform and development of farm-related conservation programs, including 1990s-era farm bills. He developed the concept of using risk management instruments to replace inputs used for risk management purposes.
Cubie is also the founder and former director of the Agricultural Conservation Innovation Center, Inc., which was at one time a project of the American Farmland Trust. He has also served as a consultant to the Muhlenberg College Center for Ornithology, where he advises on bird safety and native plants.
Dr. Daniel Klem, the leading bird-window collision scientist, has described his work as “one of the hopeful signs that bird-window collisions can be successfully addressed.” Follow him on Twitter: @jimcubie.External
Imagine A Wildlife Refuge That Does Not Protect Its Wildlife
Co-authors: Doug Tallamy and Daniel Klem | Muhlenberg College | September | 2022
Imagine a wildlife refuge that does not protect its wildlife. How could this be possible? It is not only possible, it is likely, unless we take immediate action to prevent it. Unfortunately, many advocates of native plants, birds and pollinators—good-hearted people who want to help reverse biodiversity declines by providing the native plants which wildlife needs in their yards—inadvertently make just this mistake. When we design ecologically attractive landscapes they also include real dangers to wildlife, we have actually created ecological traps that draw many animals to their death. And that, of course, is not the goal!
Los Angeles Audubon | April | 2021
Hundreds of millions of birds die every year hitting the windows in our homes. We have all seen the photos of dead birds that hit urban buildings. Ten times as many die hitting our home windows.
Humans know that a dark space on the side of a building is a window. Birds do not. They see in it a reflection of the safe space they have just been flying through, and crash into the window and die – though some fly off, to die later from internal injuries or stunned, eaten by predators.
Will Our Native Plant Efforts Do No Good?
Homegrown National Park | March | 2o21
Bird-friendly backyard programs must succeed. They are the best option for increasing bird populations on a yard-by-yard scale. Bird-friendly programs will fail, however, if they do not start by protecting birds against what is killing birds in yards -- unprotected windows. We must recognize that windows are part of the backyard ecosystem. If we do not, the gains in bird population from bird-friendly backyards will be negated by bird deaths hitting windows.
Media by this author
April | 2024
Feature | June | 2021
In this video 4 of my neighbors show the systems they have installed to protect birds against deadly window collisions. Homeowners are most concerned that putting up a system will interfere with their vision. This video addresses that concern. This version includes one less option than this video
Feature | 2021
This video shows you how to choose a good system to stop bird window collisions and what system to avoid. It compares their costs, effect on the view out the window, and explains how they work. It has links to all the vendors and DIY directions for all approved systems
Feature | 2020
This video shows how to install a scientifically validated window strike prevention system inexpensively and quickly. The commercial version of this system - Bird Strike Preventer has been tested and approved by the American Bird Conservancy. If you can we urge you to buy the BirdCrash Preventer system.
If you cannot, here is a good DIY option.
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