Over a billion birds die from hitting glass every year, like this young Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Birds in flight see the trees, buildings, or open space which is behind them reflected in the glass they are flying toward and see it as a safe passage. This doesn’t have to happen.
Birds, like us, can see the reflections on the glass before them and can look straight through transparent glass walkways – but they cannot see the glass. Most bird collisions with glass are at high speed and are often fatal. If birds are hitting the glass on your building – whether it’s a one-story home or highrise, you can still enjoy the views and light from your windows, but also make them safer for birds. Here’s how:
A couple of basic things to keep in mind are:
- Disrupting what birds see on windows by using a pattern they can see and which shows them glass is a solid barrier is critical, so the application of materials on the outside of your windows is important.
- Many birds can fly through a space that is larger than 2×2 inches. So any pattern, to be effective, needs to be spaced around 2×2 inches apart. Large decals block your view while also creating large openings birds believe they can fly through. Smaller patterns are the key to disrupting the image birds see.
Here are some of the most effective ways to keep birds from hitting your windows:
- Accopian bird savers – These simple hanging cords used on the outside of windows are an affordable and highly effective DIY solution for deterring collisions.
- Bird-friendly patterned film – Similar to the UV film you may have on the inside of your windows to protect from sun damage, these patterns on a large sheet are not distracting to humans, but send visual cues to birds that this is a solid object and not open space to fly through.
- Feather Friendly – This patterned tape is another DIY method of applying a pattern to the outside of windows. It’s easy to do and effective.
- Full window screens – To reduce reflectivity and create a cushion in the bird hits, outfit your windows with fill screens. While not always the most effective method of keeping birds safe from glass, it is still a good option.
For a complete list of ways to make your windows bird-safe, check out this page from the American Bird Conservancy. And for more info on Bird collisions, check out this ABC page.