Residential Solutions

Approximately 44% of avian window collisions in North America occur on residential structures (see a paper on this topic). If you are reading this page, you have probably had birds strike the windows of your home at some point. You can significantly reduce window strikes happening by taking a few simple steps.

Just like in commercial building situations, it’s important to note where on your home this occurs. Buildings of any size don’t have equal numbers of bird strikes on every window. You probably already know the windows around your home into which birds most frequently fly. There are products and DIY ways to treat those windows. The American Bird Conservancy has extensive resources on the topic. Here are some window treatments that BirdSafeKC coordinators have successfully used at our own homes:

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  1. Acopian Bird Savers: also known as Zen curtains, these attractive additions to the outside of your window are easily made yourself or purchased online. Essentially curtains of hanging string, they’re cost-effective and easy to install. Purchase them or see DIY plans at BirdSavers.com.
  2. Feather Friendly: this company offers adhesive dots that act to break up a window’s surface reflection. Similar to the treatments above, the overall look is hardly noticeable to the human eye after a short period of time. Feather Friendly dots are most effective if applied in less than 3″ spacing. Find residential options.
  3. CollidEscape offers a number of different residential window treatments, including various dot and line pattern adhesives, tints and even images. There are options for every window size and budget. See more.
  4. DIY decals: there are numerous fun home projects that will result in bird-friendly window treatments. One of our favorites is this simple craft project using fabric paint (this is fun for kids of all ages!) The goal is to “break up” birds’ view of transparent or reflective windows, causing them to realize there is a barrier there.
  5. Window Alert stickers: These are a common, worst-case scenario, residential product and are useful for treating relatively small square footage. The reflective decals are easily overlooked by the human eye but are attractive when noticed. Find them at windowalert.com.