Birds are beautiful, social, and intelligent creatures. They are typically curious about their surroundings, which can sometimes make them a nuisance or get them into trouble. If you've ever seen birds flying into windows, it's not an experience you want to repeat. Even if the bird is unharmed, the incident can be unsettling. Tragically, sometimes when birds hit glass at high speeds, they can be injured or killed. All too often, birds may even fly away when they're critically injured.
Many homes and businesses have large windows. As a result, it's not uncommon for a bird to occasionally fly into a window. But if it's a regular occurrence, it's likely a problem you'd like to resolve. This guide can help you understand why birds fly into windows and how to stop this disturbing pattern.
Why Birds Fly Into Windows
Birds are smart. If you've ever tried to deter pest birds from a prime nesting spot and seen how they can work around many solutions, you've witnessed their intelligence.
They also have great eyesight. Many can spot tiny insects or small creatures to prey on while in flight. But they nose-dive into windows without recognizing the danger. The truth is that birds don't understand the danger that windows can represent.
Birds Don't Know About Glass
When birds fly toward your windows, they don't see them. Instead, they see reflections of attractive things outdoors (like tree branches) or items inside your home (like the fruit bowl on the table or shiny objects).
Such an idea may seem strange on the surface. But the truth is, we don't really see windows either. Since we understand architecture, we know they're there. We actually see the building features we know surround windows, reflections, and smudges or dirt on glass.
Birds have no way of understanding the concept of windows the same way we do. When they see the reflection of a leafy tree, they see a nice place to perch. Sadly, when the bird flies in for a landing, it collides with the glass. Similarly, a bird might be tempted to fly inside if there's something attractive on the other side of the window, like food or even certain plants.
Birds Pick Fights During Mating Season
Bird activity usually increases during the spring and summer months. Spring and summer sunshine reflects off your clean windows like a mirror. Instead of preening in the mirror to improve its own reflection, a bird's reflection in the window simply looks like another bird. While this might not always be an issue, birds see each other as rivals during mating season. When birds are trying to protect their territory or attract a mate, they might peck at the window or fly aggressively at their own reflection.
How to Stop Birds From Flying Into Windows
If birds don't really see windows, how can you prevent them from colliding with your windows? The goal is to avoid attracting birds to windows and to make the glass visible to birds. Luckily, there are some solutions you can use to stop birds from flying into windows.
Remove Attractants
Many people enjoy watching birds. To attract these delightful creatures to your yard, you may place bird feeders near your home. All too often, placement near a window seems ideal so you can watch birds from inside. However, this means birds spend more time around your windows. The items inside your home can also attract their attention.
If you place food items, potted plants, shiny or sparkly things, or water sources near your windows, you may be accidentally enticing birds to your windows. Changing the placement of objects nearby can help you deter birds from flying into windows. You can take your efforts a step further by moving water sources, bird baths, and potential food sources further away from your windows.
Make Your Windows Visible
Birds don't fly into walls because they can clearly see the obstruction. If you place products on your windows that make them visible, birds will treat them more like walls. There are many products you can use to make your windows visible. Some of the most common products to make your windows visible to birds include:
- Reflective decals
- Holographic tape
- Transparent film
- Translucent tape
- Netting
When you use products directly on your windows, it's important to remember how birds will view the window. Birds are small, which means they can get through small openings. As a result, tape or other products should be spaced no more than two inches apart across the entire surface of the window. Also, birds are outside, which means they can only see the reflections on the outside of your windows. Treating your windows on the inside will fail to interrupt reflections on the outside surface of the glass.
Frighten Birds Away
If you're not actively attracting birds to your property, you may choose to simply scare them away to stop birds from flying into windows. This is especially common for commercial properties where pest birds can quickly become a nuisance.
A variety of visual bird deterrents exist to frighten birds away from areas where they cause problems. By placing decoys outdoors, Optical Gel dishes along window ledges, or holographic deterrents near your home or building, you can frighten birds away before they reach your windows.
Larger open spaces or commercial properties can benefit from multi-use products like Eagle Eye, which uses reflective light beams to alter a bird's path before they reach nearby buildings.
Windows can represent a danger for birds. In fact, it's estimated that billions of birds die each year from flying into windows. If you want to protect the birds that enhance your property, you can take steps to help them avoid collisions.
There are a variety of products available that help property owners stop birds from flying into windows, and many of them protect both your building and the birds themselves from damage. To learn more about pest bird deterrence and the products available to help stop birds from flying into windows, contact the bird control experts at Bird Barrier.
About Bird Barrier
Bird Barrier is a leader in innovative technology designed to prevent birds from landing, roosting or nesting. We specialize in urban bird control to remove birds humanely and effectively. Our website, birdbarrier.com, hosts a wealth of content to help people understand and identify bird control solutions for various problems with pest birds. Please contact us if you need help with a bird related problem. You may also benefit from our free guide, Bird Deterrents: The Complete Guide.
