Grouse shatters window, expectations

“It sounded like an explosion.” That’s how Grand Marais resident Emily Wick described the sound of a grouse flying into, and shattering, a window on the morning of Nov. 5.

Wick heard the impact from an adjacent room. The bird left a spray of broken glass between the window and where it ultimately landed, roughly 25 feet into the building and down a half-flight of stairs.

“It took me a while to even locate the grouse and understand what happened,” said Wick, adding, “I can’t imagine how fast it must have been flying to travel so far after hitting the window. The poor thing hit furniture, walls, and framed pictures on its way, leaving a trail of feathers in its wake.”

The bird, which did not survive the event, broke through two layers of glass when it hit the window.

Charlotte Roy, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grouse project leader, told WTIP that grouse do not typically fly long distances, so velocity is generally fairly limited. To her knowledge, she said, the top speed of a grouse has never been “clocked.”

Roy said that she has heard of grouse colliding with windows, but not smashing through one.

“Grouse can fly into windows when the birds eat fermented fruit (e.g., crabapples) from nearby trees and get drunk. I would imagine that the sun might also play a role if it was reflecting the surrounding vegetation, the bird might see the vegetation reflected and think it could fly through it,” she said. “This is common with migrating birds that hit buildings in cities. They see the sky reflected in the window and hit the window.”

While Wick’s experience may be an anomaly, WTIP has heard several recent reports of grouse hitting the windows of both houses and vehicles. Typically, the damage is greater to the bird.

As Roy put it, “Most grouse-window encounters usually end with the bird hurting its head or breaking its neck, rather than the window.”

Wick said about the strange event, “A broken window, house full of glass shards, and a dead grouse on the floor was not on my bingo card for today.”

The Audubon Society has tips on preventing birds from hitting windows on their website, including how to respond to a bird injured by a collision.

Below are some photos shared with WTIP by Emily Wick.

Kirsten Wisniewski November 6, 2024