How to Prevent Birds from Hitting Glass Windows

"Birds crash into my plate glass window. How do I prevent this?"

When the weather conditions are just right, birds see a reflection in your window instead of seeing through the window and into your house. If they see their own reflection, they may attack the "intruder." (Look at the video of the Northern Mockingbird to see a particularly aggressive intruder at work!) The bird will repeatedly bang into your window in an attempt to drive away the "other" bird. The best way to stop this behavior is to make the bird's reflection disappear. Close the window curtain or place something by the window or turn on some lights inside the room.

When your windows reflect the trees and sky, a bird may fly right into the window and break its neck. Millions and millions of birds die this way each year. The only way to prevent this is to put up a net in front of your window, especially during migration. The birds bounce off the net, shaken but alive. Strips of mylar in front of the window may also work. You need to tell the bird "Don't Go Here!" Making the reflection disappear (see paragraph above) will also help.

Studies have shown that pasting a Hawk silhouette on the window will not help much (unless you cover the entire window with dozens of them).

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