How do you stop a red bird from pecking at your window?

Birds sometimes attack windows and especially tinted glass, by pecking or striking them. This is usually because they can see their own reflection, and think it is a challenger for their territory.

Birds such as the Laughing Kookaburra, Little Raven, Grey Butcherbird and the Australian Magpie-lark have been seen to do this.

Birds may dive at a window because they can see another window through the glass and think that there is a clear flight path to travel through.

It can be quite distressing when birds hit against your windows. They can injure or stun themselves and leave themselves vulnerable to predators and can even damage fly screens or windows.

But there is a lot you can do to stop birds from attacking your windows, so that you can live happily side by side.

Remove the launch pad

• Often there is a particular branch or railing on your porch that the bird is launching itself from to attack the windows. Remove this branch, or place pot plants or hanging baskets or other items on the railing to make it inaccessible to the bird. If they can no longer see the reflections that are irritating them, then they won’t attack the windows

Check the light situation

• Have a look at the light and shade situation on your windows. Bright light or shade may be what is causing the reflections—so add some shade or trim some foliage as required to remove the reflections on your windows

Remove reflections

• Stick brightly coloured paper or newspaper to the outside of the windows to remove reflections
• Place a piece of shade cloth, old sheet, towel, fabric or curtain over the outside surface of the window, perhaps from the eaves or window frame. This can be removed once the bird has lost interest. If the bird is striking more than one window, cover all that are being hit. Avoid hanging nets, as they are a common cause of injury to many animals
• Destroy reflections by painting windows with Bon Ami powder cleanser, white shoe cleaner or similar preparations, until the breeding season is over, which is typically from September to January each year
• Add shutters to the outside of the windows, or install anti-glare screens over windows

Block the flight path

• Place something in the flight path the bird is using to attack the windows. For instance, hang baskets or place hanging potted plants in front of windows
• Place a pot plant or a few potted plants inside in front of the window so it no longer looks like an open flight path
• Close the blinds on any windows that can be seen through the window that the bird is striking, so that it no longer looks like an open flight path
• Hang multiple strands of rope or other material over the windows. Place them away from the window at least the same distance as the overall length of the bird. This will impair the bird’s flight, and potentially change the image the bird is responding to, and still allow light to enter your windows
• Blow up a balloon and hang it in front of the window (inside or outside the house—see which is more effective). You can also draw a face on the balloon to make it extra confusing to the bird

Avoid feeding

• Avoid feeding birds as this encourages them to come closer to our homes where they are at greater risk from pet attacks and traffic accidents, and can cause problems. Birds and other native animals are fantastic at finding their own food
• If a neighbour is feeding birds, perhaps have a friendly chat to them about the subject. It’s great to provide water and locally native plants in the garden instead for birds. You can still enjoy wildlife without feeding

Get creative

• Cut out the shape of a bird of prey such as a hawk, falcon or eagle, and stick it to the inside of your window. If the bird thinks a predator is near the window (or its shadow) it may avoid the window
• Buy a window decal in the shape of a bird of prey stick to the window.
• Create a bird of prey mobile and hang it in the window. Try searching ‘hawk silhouette’, ‘falcon silhouette’ or ‘eagle silhouette’ for inspiration. Try printing these cut outs and hanging them near the window.

Tips to help Backyard Buddies

Birds are naturally territorial, and they can get antagonistic when they see their reflection. When they stumble upon your glass windows, they go ballistic, thinking that they’re faced with a nemesis. This aggressive behavior typically heightens during the breeding season.

Your windows can get damaged when birds attack. There may be nothing you can do to prevent the passerines from visiting, but you can stop the tapping.

So how to stop birds pecking at windows? There are a couple methods to fulfill this goal. But the best way is to block the reflective nature of the windows.

Table of Contents

• Steps to Prevent Birds From Attacking Windows
  • Materials Needed To Stop Windows Attack
  • Detailed Methods To Cease Window Pecking
  • Method #1: Reflection obstruction
  • Method #2: Use distractions
  • Method #3: Soapy windows
  • Method #4: Scare tactic
  • Method #5: Draw on the windows
  • Method #6: Cover windows with mesh
  • Method #7: Paint the windows
  • Method #8: Install a window stick-on deflector
  • Method #9: Eliminate perching opportunity
  • Method #10: Utilize a plastic drop fabric
• Conclusion

Steps to Prevent Birds From Attacking Windows

Materials Needed To Stop Windows Attack

To efficiently deter birds from attacking your windows, there are materials required. You don’t have to use them all at once, but of course you can follow all the featured tactics.

• Large window decal
• Cardboard
• Window blinds/curtains
• Wind chimes
• Soap
• Plastic owl or cat statue
• Mesh
• Paint
• Plastic drop fabric

Detailed Methods To Cease Window Pecking

A bird attacking window can potentially break your window or leave nasty scratches. That’s why you must stop this from happening. Fortunately, there are effective techniques to prevent passerines from pecking on your windows.

Method #1: Reflection obstruction

A bird pecking on window is never good for your property, but the act can hurt the avian too. And so it’s best to keep the passerines from seeing their reflection on the glass windows. There are multiple ways to achieve this, such as:

• Install a beautiful large decal on the window, preferably one that is matte and dark. Ask for a recommendation from a professional window maker on what type of decal is best. Just make sure to choose one that does not project any reflection.
• Cover the window with cardboard either from the inside or from the exterior. Of course, use a clean and plain material to avoid rendering your window ugly-looking.
• Window blinds are also perfect for obstructing a reflection of the birds when they visit your home. They are also great for shading your interior from the sun.
• Install curtains at the exterior of your windows. This is a good way to be creative, and it would be fun to change curtains daily. Besides, curtains are known to add beauty to a home.

Method #2: Use distractions

If a bird wont stop attacking window, a good tactic is to install a wind chime outside your window. As the wind sways it, the birds will switch their focus and not peck on your windows anymore.

Another diversion technique to catch the attention of the pecking bird is to turn on your sprinkler. Birds would either fly away or get distracted enough to cease their pecking.

You can also hang old CDs or other bright objects outside your windows. The passerines would either stay away, or they would not continue pecking.

Method #3: Soapy windows

A mirror-like image of the birds appears on your windows if the surface is absolutely clean. Of course, you simply cannot allow your windows to accumulate dust and dirt just to prevent avians from pecking on them.

However, the best thing you can do is to soap windows to stop birds. Lather a foamy soap and water solution on your windows until the glare is gone. Once your windows are not capable of reflecting the bird’s image, there will be no attacks on your property anymore.

Do the soaping process early in the morning, and wash or wipe away the soap in the late afternoon. And then follow the same process the next day, and every day for that matter.

Method #4: Scare tactic

Passerines are scared of predators, especially the smaller ones.

Simply place a plastic statue of an owl or a cat near your window to scare the birds away. Either you place the animal-like objects permanently, or use them only when the avians start pecking.

Method #5: Draw on the windows

When a bird keeps pecking at window, it’s only a matter of time before real damage is done to your property. To prevent this from happening, it’s a good idea to draw a grid or any design on your windows.

Use a high quality fluorescent marker to draw a grid on your windows, or whatever you wish to sketch. This process is fun, and you can even let your kids make the illustration to exercise their creativity.

The markings on your windows will obstruct the reflection of the visiting birds. And if they cannot see their image, then they would not be aggressive towards your home.

Method #6: Cover windows with mesh

When birds mate, they become aggressive, but this does not happen to all birds. Some of the antagonistic birds are Northern cardinals, titmice, mockingbirds, goldfinches, and robins.

To stop them from hurting themselves, put a mesh on your exterior window. However, if you don’t want to use mesh on all your windows, only install one for the specific window that the birds frequent.

Method #7: Paint the windows

To completely stop a bird from attacking a window, a great idea is to paint your windows with any color you like. This will give you the opportunity to remodel them.

By painting your windows, you are making sure that your property is safe from bird attacks. Opt for a matte color paint to ensure that the bird’s image will not emerge from the surface.

Method #8: Install a window stick-on deflector

One of the best methods to prevent attacks on your windows by the flying creatures is to install a stick-on deflector.

With the use of a stick-on deflector, the passerines cannot see their mirror image. Plus, it’s quite easy to use this kind of item. You only need to apply it directly, and the removal is seamless as well.

The good thing is, there are many designs to choose from. And the stick-on deflector can even add beauty to your home.

Method #9: Eliminate perching opportunity

To stop bird tapping on window every morning, you can eliminate any opportunity of perching. Remove launching areas such as nearby branches or protruding wood or concrete at the bottom of the window.

Without a perching location, the birds will not have a reason to come to the window anymore. This process is a lot of work, but it solves the issue permanently.

Method #10: Utilize a plastic drop fabric

Many homeowners use plastic drop fabrics to cover the windows from the outside. This is a great idea since the reflection of the window is eliminated through this drop cloth. Plus, by going through this route, natural light can still get in your home.

The installation of a plastic drop cloth is easy too. Simply use tiny nails to hammer the fabric at the upper portion of your windows.

Conclusion

There are many methods on how to stop birds pecking at windows. Just keep in mind that not all of the tactics we featured here will work for you. However, you can try them all, and see which ones work best.

If you have new ideas about how to keep your windows safe from aggressive birds, please let us know. And kindly share this post.

Furthermore, refer to our article about ways to:

• Stop birds from flying into windows.
• Keep birds from eating grass seed.
• Get bird out of attic.

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