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Birds vs. Windows

Having a problem with birds pecking at or flying into your windows? 

It's probably a case of mistaken identity. The bird perceives its own reflection as a competitor and is attempting to drive it away by "attacking" the window. Songbirds may repel other individuals in order to reduce competition for mates, food, and secure nesting and roosting sites, etc. When they do this in the breeding season, this increases their chances of successfully raising their own young.

What you can do:

Decrease the reflectivity of your windows:
  • Pull down your shades: white curtains or blinds can make it difficult for birds to see their reflections. 
  • Put the screens in openable windows to make them less reflective . 
  • Consider soaping your windows for a couple of weeks. 
  • Break up the reflection by hanging something, placing decorative window films, or using 1-inch-wide tape or ribbon to create vertical stripes every four inches on the outside of your windows.
Create a physical barrier:
  • Build a net frame to act as a barricade by mounting fine-mesh netting (available at garden centers or hardware stores) in a rigid frame, using shelf brackets to hold the frame a couple of inches away from the window. 
  • Install indoor-outdoor blinds on the outside of your windows.
Wait for the end of the breeding season:
  • As the season progresses, hormones levels will decline and these birds will become less aggressive.
Discontinue feeding until autumn:
  • These birds may be more aggressive than normal because they are defending an artificially rich source of food (your feeder). If you cut off that supply, you will decrease the incentive to be near your home and may encourage birds to expand their territory away from your windows. In spring, natural sources of food are abundant, so supplemental feeding is not necessary.

Food for Thought:

Recent evidence shows that collisions with glass may be a major source of avian mortality that's widely overlooked. Experts believe that about 100 million birds die each year in collisions with buildings and skyscrapers in the U.S. and Canada alone.
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