Why Do Birds Fly Up to House Windows?

Most people do not want to see songbirds suffer. If you are a bird watcher and lover of birds, the last thing you want to see is a bird crashing into your window. Knowing that birds flying into your windows are not kamikaze critters but are simply confused can help you to prevent this behavior.

  1. Theories/Speculation

    • Since windows are reflective, and there probably is not a lot inside your home that a bird may find enticing, the general school of thought is that birds see the wide open outside world reflected in your picture window and believe they have a clear path of flight. Therefore, when they fly up to your window, they think they are flying to more sky, trees and flowers.

    Considerations

    • If the bird flies up to the window and can see through to another window, she may believe she can fly on through your living room or kitchen to the other window. She does not realize that there is a barrier between herself and the yard she sees through your home. You may have even experienced this yourself if you have ever walked into a sliding glass door, believing it to be open.

    Territory

    • If you notice that birds are flying up to your window predominantly during spring, the nesting season, the reason may be that these birds are territorial. Cardinals and robins are two of the more territorial birds. When a cardinal sees his reflection in your window, he believes there is another cardinal coming into his territory and he flies at it to scare it away. Consequently, he crashes into your window.

    Time Frame

    • If this is only a seasonal occurrence, you may consider soaping your windows, leaving them dirty or closing the shades to make them less reflective thereby reducing the chance of a bird flying into your window. You can then clean them and open the shades once nesting is done and your cardinals and robins begin to relax again.

    Prevention/Solution

    • For year-round solutions to preventing birds flying into your windows, you can put screens on your windows. The screen cuts down on the reflection and cushions any crashing birds. Decals are popular solutions to reflective windows. You can purchase decals made especially for this purpose which are less visible to the human eye and more visible to birds. It does not need to be a decal of something that scares the bird; any shape will break up the reflection and warn the bird of the approaching window. Also, consider moving any bird feeders further away from your windows to reduce the amount of bird traffic at your windows.