How to Stop Birds From Pecking at Your Window
While I appreciate the occasional neighbor’s bird sitting on my windowsill, I don’t appreciate the incessant pecking of the window glass. During mating season, male birds will be eager to secure the best nesting spots in the city, and your windowsill may seem like a great spot. However, under the right conditions, your window becomes reflective and the male bird sees his reflection and thinks he has competition. All these pecking is because he is attacking the “other” bird to protect his place.
And unfortunately, it’s not just a matter of pecking – the reflection can cause birds to fly into windows, which can cause much more damage (to the window and the bird). But as we enter mating season, there are some things you can do to protect these birds and your windows.
Since birds do not perceive glass well, they only see what is reflected in it. If the sky and clouds are reflected in it, the birds do not realize that they are flying into an obstacle. If they see their reflection, they will think they are seeing another bird. The key is to remove the reflection – and there are many ways to do this. Keeping curtains, shades or shutters closed may help, but the glass may still be reflected at some angles. In fact, unless you darken the glass in some way, birds may see large plants just outside the window and perceive them as safe outdoor plants to fly into.
There are fewer problems with frosted or patterned glass, and you can buy film to create a frosted look on your windows. You can also use soap or tempera paint on the window to reduce glare—both are temporary and removable. Stickers or Mylar strips can help, but are not as effective as a solution that covers the entire window. To best deter birds, the solution is to cover the entire window with mesh, small enough that even small birds will not try to “fly through”.
Acopian BirdSavers are a paracord grill that can be hung outside your window. You can buy them or make them yourself . This method is used by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Ultimately, if a bird is pecking at your window and you want to protect the bird and stop the noise, the solution is to find a way to shield the window from causing reflections.