I had such high hopes for the Bird’S Eye View Window Film. I will rewind to give you my story.
I have a subscription to Birds and Blooms and in the June/July issue there was a full page advertisement for a product that caught my attention, Bird’s Eye View Window Film. This product was developed to help protect wild birds from flying into windows by making shiny clean windows more visible. I thought they looked beautiful with the geometric designs and a touch of color.
Let me tell you that I have had a problem with birds smacking into my front and back windows. I happen to have a lot of windows in my house…love the natural light. But, it does make for a lot of window strikes.
I received two packages of the Bird’s Eye view product to try and share a review with you. These are more like square window clings, they went up easily and have stayed adhered to the window. You can actually peel them off and reposition them if you need to with no problem. I am totally happy with that aspect.
The problem is that I have had numerous birds fly right into the very windows with the product on them. Have they reduced the number of birds colliding with my shiny windows? It is hard to say. I went back and reread the application instruction and realized it does say that there needs to be 2 6″ pieces or 4 4″ pieces near the center of the window about 4″ apart. I moved my pieces around but put them right over where I could see the feathers from the bird strike on the outside of the window. We are still hearing birds hit the window.
I am going to leave them up all summer and try to pay attention to see if we seem to have less collisions…partly because it seems proactive on my part and partly because they are pretty. And, I think I am actually going to get some more and see if placing more of the Bird’s Eye View product on my windows will help eliminate the bird strikes over time. I will keep you posted.
On this very day, a scrub jay hit my back door window and I found him dead on the back mat even though I have a decal on that particular door. It breaks my heart when this happens.
If you have a problem with birds hitting your windows, you can try this product and see if you have success. You can purchase this product online or on Amazon.com: Bird’s Eye View window film.
So, although this product hasn’t completely eliminated my problem with birds flying into my windows, I think it is a step towards solving a worrisome problem.
Additional Links
- 10 Things to do to Prevent Window Strikes – I might consider adding a few of these ideas to see if they help in my particular case.
- Keeping Birds Safe Around Windows – from the much respected people at All About Birds.
- Birds and Windows – from the Portland Audubon Society
Please note that the Amazon link is an affiliate link.
I just saw this same ad in Birds and Blooms magazine and was wondering if this product worked….interesting that I happened to find your review. I am wondering if you really need to pretty much cover the majority of your window with the decals for them to work, because I suspect the birds may be seeing the design where they are placed on the glass but are hitting your window when they try to fly into what they think is clear space (which may be an area where there is no decal). I guess the only way you would know this is if you happen to be there when a bird actually flies at the glass and you see which part of the glass he hits. You might also have a very large window and need more decals.
I don’t know if this product is any better and I don’t know if this review is real or bogus, but thought I’d send it to you (attached below) – also, you would probably need a lot of these to cover the glass. Or it may be that the decal looks like a predator and THAT deters them:
http://blog.duncraft.com/2014/07/14/window-decals-do-they-really-work/
I just wish architects and glass makers would design glass with something that birds can see etched into the actual glass – and this stuff should be MANDATORY for office buildings. I just cringe when I read about some mirrored glassy monstrosity going up in an urban area that is in a migratory flyway.
By the way, have you read the work of Dr. Daniel Klem of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA? He is something like the world authority on bird window crashes. Just Google his name and you will find a ton of reference.
Thank you for caring about the birds and trying to help prevent them from crashing into your windows. I wish more people were aware of this.
I’ll be interested in reading any follow up you post. I actually like the design on this decal and would love for it to be a success!
Thanks so much for the info!
We used to have a major problem with bird strikes and had a few dead birds as well. What helped us is moving our bird feeders closer to the house (it was a tip I read). We still have some bird strikes but since the feeders are closer, they are not going too fast and they just fly away. They don’t ever even fall to the ground.
I tried that too…still having trouble.
I got the same decals and put only ONE per large pane on a diamond orientation (points up and down, side to side) and haven’t had a single bird strike since. I used to get mourning doves smacking the windows (and lost a mated pair one time who were fleeing a hawk and smacked adjoining windows at the same time), but I haven’t had any thumps, bird feathers or anything since I put them up. I did follow a suggestion and my feeder is within 20 ft of the house so the birds slow down near the house, but I do like these a lot.
We had one fatality since putting up the decals but significantly lower incidents of collisions.
Put more of them. If a bird is being chased and in a panic, if they see an “opening” or what they think to be an opening, they will still hit the window.