#bird collisions

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.

A noo artikle has dunben rote ahn www.sanfranciscocronukle.com

Are birds hitting your home? SF wants to know

From Twin Cities.com >

Are you kidding me?

Welcome Vikings fan, oh yeah, sorry about all those dead birds you had to wade through outside before the game.

I feel the need to clarify this image a bit after posting it on Instagram yesterday. 

This is a representation of the many species of migratory birds that die flying into downtown Chicago buildings each year. There are more than 70 different species represented, but as many as 2,000 individual birds collide with windows on their routes in the Chicago downtown area alone. Although this is a beautiful image, it is not really what I would call 'cool' or 'neat'.

These birds are not stupid. This is not an example of natural selection. This is a visual representation of the massive amount of impact that we as humans have on the environment around us. It is an indicator that we are in their way, not vice versa. It is ingrained within their DNA that the paths they are following are tried and true, and the safest ways to get from point A to point B each season. For thousands of years these species have followed the shore of Lake Michigan on their annual routes. They cannot see the windows of the high rise buildings because sky scrapers have not existed as long as these birds have been passing through this area, and it is unreasonable for us to expect them to adapt around architectural additions. 

The Chicago Bird Collision Monitors is made up of a large group of volunteers that monitor collisions and fatalities of these birds each year. They work towards rehabilitating injured birds and reporting deaths to places like the Field Museum so we can best find solutions to this ongoing problem. With advocacy and awareness, we will be able to find ways of using bird-friendly glass and lighting so as not to confuse our feathered friends, and hopefully decrease the amount of fatal impacts each year. 

A Northern Flicker, dead as a result of running into the window of a Chicago skyscraper. [Image credit: Annette Prince]

"Because of its location on migratory routes, Chicago’s skyline kills more birds than any other in the country. Navigating by the stars and hungry after flights from as far away as Peru, the birds arrive on Lake Michigan’s shoreline in search of food. There, the twinkling city and its canyons become a death trap."