Little_grey_lady
Devoted Cultist
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2009
- Messages
- 121
I think the theory now is that birds simply don't register glass as a thing, and see a window as an open route to be flown through. Thus, they tend to fly into the windows of clearly lit rooms, and not those with blinds or curtains closed, or where the room is very dark (making the glass look opaque). Also, larger areas of glass tend to be more of a problem - especially if the bird can see through to a clear window on the other side of the building.
As long as they are positioned correctly, window bird feeders are actually considered safe - even the RSPB sell them these days - which probably wouldn't be the case if birds went mental at their own reflections as a matter of course. (I think some species do get aggressive, especially during mating season - it happens, but it's not that common; birds tend to tweet the buggery out of each other, rather than get punchy.)
When I was younger a bird fell in love with his reflection on our bedroom window. Every morning he would come and peck at the glass. It got so bad, you could actually start to see a mark on the glass from all the pecking. Sadly he was an early riser and being woken by the incessant tapping was not fun. The curtains being closed didn't seem to make a difference on the bird and the reflection. We rang the RSPB who said we should hang a string with something noisy on that might scare him. We fashioned a peace of string with some foil cake tins (the small kind, like MR Kiplings) as it was the best we could come up with. The next morning the bird appeared and was very grateful for the lovely swing we had provided. Back to the RSPB who said we should smear the glass to make it opaque. So the best part of a bottle of windowlene went on the windows and stayed for a week, after which the bird was never to be seen again thankfully.