May 2013: The other day a mourning dove slammed into our bathroom window so hard it made me jump two rooms away. The impact left feathers stuck to the glass and scattered on the roof.
From our backyard feeders the window must look like a safe hole in the sky to escape from the local Coopers hawk. But no. The dove died.
It wasn’t the first time the two upper windows on the back of our house were hit but it was practically the last.
Window strikes were at least a monthly event at our house so in May 2013 I installed thin reflective tape recommended by the American Bird Conservancy on the outside of the windows. Birds see the tape as a grid too narrow to fly through so they don’t aim for the window.
February 2020: In 7 years only two birds hit the windows after I installed the tape. This may have happened because I didn’t place the stripes as close as in the photo above.
We went from monthly bird strikes to practically none. The stripes really do prevent window kills!
Here’s where to buy it: CollidEscape.org.
(photo from ABCbirdtape.org. Click on the image to visit the website.)
There are infrared window decals available commercially. Easy to find with an internet search. They are barely visible to humans, but clearly visible to birds. I have not had any bird hitting my windows since I have been using these.
There are many programs across the US, working to stop bird collisions with windows. Chicago Bird Monitors and New York City Audubon’s Project Safe Flight being among the longest running.
The American Bird Conservancy developed ABC BirdTape to help fill a gap in effective products as part of our efforts to reduce the threat of collisions for birds already imperiled by habitat loss on all parts of their range.
WindowAlert decals can also be effective for species that can see ultraviolet light, if spaced according to the well established 2×4 rule (spacing no more than 2″ apart in the vertical dimension or 4″ apart in the horizontal dimension…e.g. Vertical lines separated by 4″). Unfortunately, pigeons and doves can’t see UV, nor can hummingbirds.
FeatherFriendly, Birdsavers, and Collidescape are all also effective solutions, and ABC is working with glass manufacturers around the world to help develop new products!
Thanks for taking action to save birds at your home. I hope you found the ABC BirdTape worked for you!
After trying many things to stop bird strikes on our back windows, including several types of decals/clings, we now make our own “window alerts”. Simple, inexpensive, moveable and they work better than anything else we’ve found. We haven’t had a “fatal” or major strike in years.
All that’s needed are some small suction cups, a few twist ties and holoographic “scare tape.” (inexpensive on Amazon, a bit more $ in specialty shops) I’d be happy to share a picture of one we’ve made but apparently cannot post a photo in this section.
The trick seems to be to cut the scare tape down the center, making it thinner than the width provided. That way, it moves in even the slightest breeze and easily alerts the birds.