KERSPLAT! Birds and Windows
Okay, listen, it's not an overly happy topic but I feel like we have to have it, blog readers. Birds and windows.
According to the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), over 99,000 birds have died due to window collisions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) since 1993 (FLAP 2022). For reference, that's just shy of 20 times more animals than the Toronto Zoo has in their care (City of Toronto 2017). So, you can go to the Toronto Zoo more than 15 times and still not see the same number of animals in the zoo as the number of birds that have died solely due to glass collisions in the GTA. Isn't that sad? Hopefully this triggers the thought in your mind of "What can we do to stop this??" Well, the good news is FLAP has done extensive research on how you can protect birds from going KERSPLAT! right into your shiny, glass windows.
Your first thought might be to go for those bird of prey decals that you sometimes see on people's windows, like the ones shown below.
Image Caption: Bird of Prey decals on a window.
Birds of prey widow stickers, keeps birds from hitting windows. CoolWalls.ca. (n.d.). https://coolwalls.ca/products/birds-of-prey-widow-stickers-keeps-birds-from-hitting-windows
The thing is, I'm terribly sorry to say, these don't do anything. Unless, of course, you were to put them over practically every square centimeter of your window. But why don't these work?
Through research, FLAP has found that there are certain criteria that must be met for window decals to be effective against bird strikes (FLAP 2021). These criteria are:
Decals must be placed in a way that leaves no space larger than a 5cm x 5cm gap.
Decals must be placed on the outside of the window's surface, never the inside.
Decals must be in high contrast to the window (meaning if the window is normally under heavy shade and is therefore dark, the decals should be light to contrast the dark window. Two tones of markings is the most effective so there is always high contrast).
Decals can't be less than 6mm in diameter.
Decals must cover the entire surface of the window.
Below is an example of a decal that would fit all the criteria to keep birds from hitting windows. Notice the lack of blank space, the full window coverage, and the high contrast against the window.
Image Caption: Example of bird safe window decals at the University of British Columbia.
Bird friendly art saves feathered lives. sustain.ubc.ca. (2019, April 29). https://sustain.ubc.ca/stories/bird-friendly-art-saves-feathered-lives
Another way to reduce (but not completely deter) bird collisions with windows is to move your bird feeder as close to the window as you can (FLAP 2021). This sounds counterintuitive at first (at least it did to me when I first heard it). I thought to myself, "Wouldn't you want to move it away from the window so you don't attract the birds to the window?"
The fact is, birds slow down to land on bird feeders. If they're coming at a bird feeder on or near a window, they're less likely to fly at the window at top speed. Therefore, if the bird does still happen to collide with the window, it's less likely to be fatal to the poor bird.
I'm a big fan of bird feeders that suction directly onto the window. Not only do they help save birds from window collisions, but they're fun! It's neat to see the birds come right up to your window. And you can get some really fun photos out of it, too!
Image Caption: Black-capped chickadee eating seeds at my window bird feeder.
Gregory, Alexandra. "Chickadee Chow Time", 2025.
Image Caption: Black-capped chickadee at my window bird feeder.
Gregory, Alexandra. "Chickadee at bird feeder", 2025.
Image Caption: A bonus funny picture, a little bird bum.
Gregory, Alexandra. "Chickadee Bum", 2025.
Maybe bird collisions with windows is not something you've ever thought about before or maybe it's an issue you're already familiar with. Either way, I hope this post was helpful in getting you to think about your own windows and how you might be able to make some changes to help out our feathery friends!
Citations: Flap Canada data – Flap Canada. (2017). https://flap.org/data/
Stop birds from hitting Windows – Flap Canada. (2021). https://flap.org/stop-birds-from-hitting-windows/
Birds of prey widow stickers, keeps birds from hitting windows. CoolWalls.ca. (n.d.). https://coolwalls.ca/products/birds-of-prey-widow-stickers-keeps-birds-from-hitting-windows
Bird friendly art saves feathered lives. sustain.ubc.ca. (2019, April 29). https://sustain.ubc.ca/stories/bird-friendly-art-saves-feathered-lives
Gregory, Alexandra. "Chickadee Chow Time", 2025.
Gregory, Alexandra. "Chickadee at bird feeder", 2025.
Gregory, Alexandra. "Chickadee Bum", 2025.
