Birds Flying into Windows - Bird Window Decals to Keep Birds From Crashing into Windows

One of the more upsetting things we have all seen is birds flying into windows. Be it at work in an office building or at home with a picture window, the unmistakeable sound when the bird crashes into a window is one we would all rather forget. But what would cause a bird to go flying into a window at full speed. Are they on the attack or simply daft?

Birding experts would contend that most of the time it’s not what they see inside that’s the subject of the bird attack. They have little interest in the inside decoration of your home, and most of the time can’t see it anyhow. From the outside on a sunny day, the glass is actually acting more like a mirror reflecting the outside environment. This has only been made worse in recent years as many windows now have some sort of solar tint or film, which enhances the reflective properties of the window. For windows into a dark room this can be a very effective mirror.

Given that reflections on the window draw many birds into flying into the window as they either consider it an extension of the outside, or they see a strange bird in their area, what are some things we can do to minimize the deceptive reflections of the windows?

Changing the appearance of the window to reduce the effects of reflections can be done in a variety of ways. For example, windows without solar tinting it could be something simple like drawing the shades, especially if the shades have a light backing, improving their visibility.

Home Made Solutions to Keep Birds From Crashing

Something can be added to the outside of the window. If your windows have screens, that may be a simple solution. Not only does it decrease the visibility of the window and its reflections, but if there is still a collision it may buffer the impact.

These simple ideas may not work in many cases, and some commercial solutions may be necessary. Some home made ideas to try would be a some decorative ribbon stretched across the window. If birds fly into windows only during a short seasonal episode, putting soap or shoe polish on the window may work. The obvious problem with many of these ideas is that they are just as visible from inside the window as outside.

If you have a bird feeder, and you’ve situated it near the window to watch, it may be that the simplest thing to do is to move the feeder farther away from the window.

Reflective Window Decals

There are a number of commercially available window decals made to keep birds from flying into windows. For example Droll Yankees has a Window Warning Web. basically a large artificial spider looking web applied to the window.

One of the best selling of the window decals are those from Window Alert. They make a number of different designs, and they are almost transparent from this inside of the window, but are visible as star, butterfly, leaf, or hummingbird patterns from the outside. These are effective yet have minimal impact on your view.

Filed under Birding by John

Comments on Birds Flying into Windows - Bird Window Decals to Keep Birds From Crashing into Windows »

May 1, 2008

Evelyn @ 10:37 am

My children and I love to make hanging mobiles out of thick black cardboard to hang near the windows. This seems to cut down on the number of crashing birds.

The idea of nearly invisible decals sound like another great alternative.

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