How to Stop Birds from Flying Into Your Windows

We’ve all witnessed when birds smack into windows, and it’s even worse if they don’t recover from the impact. The lucky ones are merely injured, but more people are installing French doors, double glazing and bay windows, leading to an increase in premature bird deaths. It’s estimated that around 100 million birds collide with windows on an annual basis. As many as 33% of these die. Fortunately, there are ways in which you can help to reduce this figure.

By making the window more obvious to birds, you can stop them thinking there’s a way through. You can do this by placing an object on the outside of the pane. As long as there’s an image, such as a sticker or a coloured shape, this should help. Likewise, bird stickers can be bought from various pet shops, which will also do the same thing. According to the RSPB, however, these measures greatly reduce the chance of birds colliding with windows, but doesn’t totally eliminate the possibility.

Double glazing, in particular, reflects a lot of light. When birds are flying at an angle, as they often do, the effect is even worse. As long as any protective film coating or sticker is on the outside of the window, it will reduce the chances of birds colliding with them. Placed on the inside, the glare is still present from the secondary pane, obscuring the view of any passing birds.

Other options include fitting fritted glass. This also has the benefit of reducing glare and the cost of cooling a building. Different shapes and patterns can be integrated into the design as well, giving you an edge over your previous design. Fritted glass is reinforced, so it’s a stronger addition to your home.

Without replacing your windows, you can make use of adhesive strips. On the outside of the window, white tap can be fixed vertically around 10cm apart. You can keep the window functional without compromising your view. Likewise, black tape can be used, but this needs to be closer together. If you do go down the sticker route, you will need to make sure your window is well covered, otherwise it won’t do much to deter collisions. If you’re put off by plastering stickers everywhere, you can get transparent ones that are ultraviolet. Although they’re transparent to our eyes, birds can still see them.

One of the least intrusive or obstructive measures you can make use of is to apply a film to the outside of the windows. You can typically get these to fit the whole window and they work because they’re opaque on the outside but transparent on the inside. They still allow light through but will reduce the chance of birds hitting your window.

Finally, you can make use of any blinds that you may have. Vertical blinds are incredibly useful as they can be left halfway open, indicating to birds that the window is there. Horizontal blinds can work if they are closed as often as possible. Curtains can always be closed during the day, which will make the obstruction more obvious.

By making some small changes, you can help conserve bird populations. With an estimated third of all bird collisions being fatal, changes like these can help bring this statistic down.