How to Stop Birds Such As Cardinals from Flying into Windows

Thump! This sickening sound signals a bird has flown into one of your windows. Unfortunately, birds cannot see glasses, especially when it reflects the nearby habitat of the skies. This reflection is not registered as such to the birds. In fact, this is the reason why thousands of birds are injured or die every year due to collisions with windows in buildings. 

Cardinals are territorial birds and when they see another bird of the same species in its territory, their first instinct is to attack. The windows on your house or car act as mirrors and once a cardinal flies close enough to see its reflection; it interprets it as an invader and immediately wages an attack or pecks the window to chase the invader away. This explains why thousands of cardinals and robins die every year. 

What can you do to stop birds from flying into and pecking your windows?

Discussed below are 10 techniques for making your windows less deadly for the birds. 

1. Feather Guard

This technique uses feathers strung about 8 inches apart on a fishing line. These lines are then vertically placed on the windows that are regularly struck by birds. Once a bird sees these feathers, it changes its course away from the window. Why this technique works, nobody knows for sure.

2. Move your feeders

Most birds that fly into the window are the familiar feeders frequenting our backyards. This technique features two parts. Place the feeder farther or closer to the window. The idea is to alter the path taken by birds to and from the feeder. By moving the feeder closer to a window helps in that, birds frightened off the feeder by hawks do not gain enough speed to hurt themselves. On the other hand, by moving the feeder close to the window, birds can see that it is not an ideal escape route. Keep in mind that this technique does not work with non-feeder birds. 

3. Plastic Strips/CDs/pie pans

Another technique to prevent birds from flying into your windows involves suspending something unusual in front of the glass. The item used should be shiny and reflective, such as an aluminum pie pan, CDs, or a tin foil. It can also be something that easily flutters when the wind blows such as a plastic bag. 

4. Branches 

Break up the reflective ability of the large glasses to make them less deadly for birds. The most effective and natural way to do this is by suspending three branches in front of your windows. When using this technique, ensure to give enough coverage to the glass pane, but not entirely distracting your view. 

5. Mylar balloon/tubes

If you have $6.99 to spare, invest the highly durable and shiny metallic-looking Mylar balloons. When these balloons flap around in the wind, they spook the birds from getting too close to the windows. 

Wrapping a strip of a bright Mylar around a tube from the paper towel rolls and hanging it from a string in front of the commonly struck window will solve the problem.

6. Screens or netting your windows

This is an old standby solution to birds flying into your windows. The technique involves stretching mesh netting across the struck windows. Unlike the techniques above, netting your window takes a bit of work and it is not visually appealing. On the positive side, it is 100 percent effective in preventing birds from flying into your windows. Alternatively, you can get old window screens and suspend them to inform them of the regularly hit windows. 

7. Hawk/crow/owl Silhouettes

In the 1970s, the vinyl flying Accipiter silhouettes were commonly used to solve the window strikes and are still widely used today. The crow and owl silhouettes are equally effective. The idea behind the use of these vicious birds is to frighten off other smaller birds from flying towards them. However, the effectiveness of this technique is questionable because they seem to work for a while. It seems like the birds soon get used to these shapes and are no longer deterred by them. If these silhouettes are not available at your local bird stores, you can trace an outline of a crow, hawk, or owl from a picture, use a copier to enlarge it, cut it out, trace it on a vinyl or a black paper, and stick it onto the windows. 

8. Spray-on fake snow/ vegetable oil

Apply a light coating of either fake snow or vegetable oil to deaden the reflective ability of the windows. You should, however, avoid overdoing the fake snow or it will break your view out of the window. 

9. Plastic food wrap

Break up the reflection of the windowpane by sticking large sheets of food wrap across the middle of the window. Use saran wrap and related products for this purpose. If sticking the wrap proves hectic, spray a light coating of water or vegetable oil on the windows before sticking the wrap. Unlike the glass on your windows, the wrap does not reflect the surroundings.

10. Commercial stickers

With the cases of birds flying into windows becoming common, there are now products designed to prevent these strikes. A static-adhering sticker is one product that resembles a spider web. There are other designs featuring predator faces or metallic reflective surfaces meant to scare birds away. 



Also read our other bird tip: How To Get Rid Of A Dead Pigeon In Roof