Window Collisions:
And How to Prevent Birds from Flying into Windows

 

Reflections

Why do birds fly into windows:

Glass is reflective and transparent. Birds don’t perceive glass as a solid thing. They see what it reflects or they see through it, but they do not see the glass itself. Thus, if something in their normal life, such as trees and blue sky are reflected in the window, that is what they see and they “know” that they can fly into blue sky. In cases such as a window-lined corridor, birds can see through the windows on both sides of the corridor, and they will sometimes attempt to fly through the windows because all they see is what is on the other side of the corridor. It is these qualities of windows, reflectivity and transparency, that make windows deadly to birds.

Bird Safety First!

If you want a bird-friendly yard, you must first make it safe for birds. Looking at the chart above makes it clear the actions we must take to make our yards safe for birds. We need to keep our cats indoors and we need to prevent birds from flying into our windows.

Resources

Fortunately, there are now many inexpensive window treatment options for homeowners to use to prevent, or at least reduce, bird deaths. Below are some websites with useful information.

Information about Birds, Window Collisions and Window Treatments

An Inside Look: The Science and Solutions for Bird-window Collisions
This is an hour-long YouTube webinar produced by Audubon New York featuring two experts from the American Bird Conservancy.