How to stop birds from hitting windows

Installing Feather Frindly bird-window collision deterrent | Photo by  Hanae Bettencourt

Has a bird ever crashed into a window at your home or office? It happens frequently.  More than one billion birds fatally collide with windows every year in the US, including tens of thousands annually right here in Seattle.

Our birds need you to save them from bird-window collisions. Here are a few ways you can help.

Make windows safer for birds.

Rufous Hummingbird suspected to have died after colliding with a window.

-Many birds do not recognize glass as a barrier. Reflections of trees or sky in windows are hard to distinguish from reality for many species. We can help birds recognize glass as a barrier by adding “visual noise” on the outside surface of the glass.

Visual noise is anything that birds can see that breaks up reflections in glass or removes the illusion of fly-through conditions. Visual noise can be anything from insect screens to adhesive decals. You could even streak your windows with a bar of bath soap. 

Some windows may be more hazardous than others. Windows facing gardens, trees, or other good habitat should be treated first, as should windows close to birdfeeders and those through which indoor plants are visible from outside.

Click here for a tool to help you assess the relative collision risk of windows around you home or office. 

When using decals or markings on windows, try to follow the 2 x 2 Rule: space markings no farther than two inches apart either vertically or horizontally. This helps protect small species like hummingbirds and chickadees that can fly through very tight spaces. Other solutions are effective with different spacing. For example,  Acopian BirdSavers, are effective with four-inch spacing between cords.

The markings in the figure above demonstrate application of the two by two rule. Whether the markings are applied horizonally or vertically, expanses of exposed, untreated glass should be two inches wide or smaller. Black-capped Chickadee for scale.

Click here to see The Nature Shop’s selection of bird-window collision deterrent products.

Go lights out for wildlife

Seattle is behind the curve when it comes to policy to help prevent bird-window collisions. Dozens of cities and counties across the country already have bird-safe building regulations in place. New York City has the most stringent requirements.

If New York City can adopt bird-safe building standards, Seattle-area cities can too.

Click here to easily email your local elected officials, urging them to adopt bird-safe building standards.

Report dead or injured birds at dBird.org.

If you observe a dead or injured bird that you suspect collided with a window, please report it at dBird.org. Conservation scientists around the country use reports from dBird.org to document, understand, and reduce human-related bird mortality. You can also report bird deaths and injury from other causes, such as cat attacks, poisonings, entanglement in plastic pollution, disease, and more.

Submitting a dBird report is easy and takes just a minute. No account or registration is required. Simply open dbird.org in an internet browser, answer a few questions about the bird and where you found it, upload a photo, and that’s it.

Invite your friends and family to take action.

Burrowing Owls | Stephan Kent | Audubon Photography Awards

Saving birds from window collisions will take action from a lot of people. Share what you’ve learned about bird-window collisions with your friends and family and invite them to take action, too. 

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