The whole 'hawk silhouette' thing is backwards for most yards

I keep seeing people slap those big bird of prey decals on windows thinking it'll scare off songbirds. But here's the thing from my backyard in Portland where I've had 12 strikes this year alone. Those hawk decals actually make smaller birds panic and fly faster into the glass because they're trying to escape a predator. Shouldn't we be using UV reflective stickers or feather curtains instead of pretending birds recognize a static silhouette as a threat? Anyone else notice this or am I overthinking it?

3 comments

3 Comments

henderson.kim14d ago

Friend of mine put one of those hawk decals on her sliding glass door and a robin still hit it so hard it left a feather imprint. She took it off after that.

cooper.viola14d ago

Bet that robin just wanted to prove the decal wrong, @henderson.kim.

the_felix13d agoMost Upvoted

Decals are great until the birds treat them like a dare. That robin probably saw the hawk outline and thought "watch this, I'm going for a new high score." Your friend's story reminds me of the time I put a fake owl on my porch railing and a blue jay just sat next to it squawking like it was arguing with a statue. Mileage really varies with those things, though I guess the one that left a feather imprint was at least going for it.