Bird-Friendly Fixes
It's easy to make your windows safer for birds!
Here are at least four different ways to treat your class to prevent bird building collisions.
Bird-friendly Tape or Film with Decals
Patterned tape or film is very effective collision deterrents when applied on the outside at the 2" x 2" spacing. Feather Friendly (featherfriendly.com) film and tape consists of adhesive markers applied to the exterior surface of glass to provide visibility to birds and barely noticeable to people. After applying using the 2”x2” rule, the dotted pattern is visible to birds and eliminate most bird collisions.
Decals should be white to "break up" reflective glass - or black to "break up" glass with see-through conditions.
The 2”x 2” rule. To be effective, you must follow the 2”x 2” rule. This involves uniformly covering the outside of the glass with a contrasting pattern of shapes spaced no farther apart than 2 inches vertically and 2 inches horizontally will prevent all different species of birds from hitting the glass, whether the problem is reflectivity or see-through conditions. This spacing protects even our smallest birds like hummingbirds and Brown Creepers.
Hanging Rope or Twine
Rope and twine are easy to install, long lasting, and highly effective. They are also simple, easily to remove and clean, and affordable to make yourself. Spacing of 4" for hanging materials, like rope or twine, is proven effective at saving all bird species!
The BirdSavers website gives directions to create your own, or order them directly from Acopian BirdSavers. Approximately $2.98 materials cost* or $0.25 cents per sq. ft. if you build your own or $2.50 per sq. ft. if you buy them pre-made.
Temporary Solutions
Tempera paint can be an affordable and fun-to-use fix that's non-toxic and won't drastically alter the luminosity of the glass. Use a brush or sponge to apply it to the windows. Because it is relatively inexpensive and easy to remove, it can be used to collision proof windows in situations where more permanent or more expensive solutions may not be viable. Be sure to follow the 2”x 2” rule.
Other temporary solutions are UV decals or applying UV marker or poster paint to the outside of windows. Ultraviolet light is visible to birds but not humans.
What Doesn't Work
Do not use 'hawk' silhouettes or any visual markers unless they are applied following the 2"x2" rule. Studies show that birds do not recognize these shapes as "hawks." Birds are dynamic flyers. They will attempt to navigate around the shapes and crash into the glass.
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Why Collisions Happen
Glass is deadly for birds because it creates powerful optical illusions—reflecting trees, sky, or appearing as open air. Unable to recognize it as a barrier, birds fly full speed into the glass, often with fatal results.
Birds see habitat and open sky reflected on our windows. Almost any glass can act like a perfect mirror under certain lighting conditions. Deceived by the reflection, they crash into the solid glass trying to reach what they see. When birds strike windows they suffer head trauma, usually concussions, often severe enough to result in blood seeping out of their eyes and bill. Other times there is no visible evidence.
Reflectivity
Birds see habitat and open sky reflected on our windows. Almost any glass can act like a perfect mirror, reflecting the habitat around it. Deceived by these reflections, birds try to fly to them or through them —and tragically collide with a solid invisible barrier.
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Transparency
When birds can view habitat or sky through glass—like in glass walkways, sunrooms, enclosed porches, or windows directly across from each other—they can try to fly through it. The glass becomes a deadly illusion.
Either way, the results are deadly for billions of birds.
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