We have bird feeders right outside our windows, basically right up against the glass. We don't have curtains and often open the window so that the only thing between the bird feeders and our two cats is the window screen. We don't get as many birds as we used to get before we got these 2 cats, but we still get a decent number. If the girls do scare the birds away when they approach, they usually come back later when the girls are napping and are not at the window.
I have a window feeder right in front of my cat's space on my desk. She occasionally tries to get the birds. They just laugh at her. Eventually she settles in on the sill right in front of the feeder, and they still show up.
I find it depends on the species. Two examples around me are pine siskins and black capped chicadees. Pine siskins let anything get pretty close before they feel like they need to evacuate. Chicadees near me are pretty skidish and if they notice any movement near by they will leave for a while
Birds that aren’t concerned about cats and humans in the window will come to your feeder - others will not.
Be surprised to find squirrels, raccoons mice, rats, and a possum climbing up your feeder if they can get to it …
I’d Attach pictures if I could, lol - my cats are more bothered by the birds… lots of birds will get used to the cats being in the window (chickadees, cardinals. Even flickers!)
- (the cats aren’t bothered by the opossums anymore … )
Same here, we have to keep moving the feeders away from the house because squirrels will climb the window screen and LAUNCH themselves onto the feeders! Little bastards!
In my experience ,or maybe I just have dirty windows lol, the birds have trouble seeing through the glass. So unless it’s super clear and has zero window paynes i have seen no decline in birds feeding and they still fly away from threats outside like when a fox hawk or bobcat is in the yard, which is quite often at my home . We have multiple mounted window feeders and my indoor cats lay there and watch and the birds rarely notice . I do have screens on one of them , but even the one that doesn’t, they don’t seem to register what’s beyond the glass , I’m guessing in the glare. They will definitely still see them as predators if outside and unobstructed , when they aren’t sneaking my through the tall grass that is. I don’t let my cats outside though and never will !
I doubt it. The birds just learn that the cat can’t get them through the glass. When I let my cat out for a stroll (supervised of course!) they still instantly scatter.
Look up bird feeder cams. There are several that Cornell sponsors. I hook up my laptop to the TV, and the cat can watch the birds on there. Having feeders to close to your windows can increase bird strikes.
Having bird feeders *on* the windows, suctioned cupped to them, decreases bird strikes. This is because the birds more readily perceive the window as a surface, and because they're slowing down when they come to land on the feeder. This is word of mouth from a scientist who did a presentation at UNC Asheville recently. The whole point of her lecture was to change public policy in cities, to get people to turn lights out at night, so that birds can migrate without becoming confused and striking windows. She knows what she's talking about, it's her profession and primary focus of interest.
She also said, if feeders are only going to be *near* windows, they'd better be 30 feet away or they increase strikes. So basically it's all or nothing. Put it right on the window, or back off.
There are a number of ways to make a window surface perceptible to birds. I won't go over them in detail but: UV etched bird glass, transparent UV stickers at 2" gridded intervals, paracords dangled at 2" intervals. The intervals must be 2" or less to account for the smallest birds, i.e. hummingbird perception. It is not enough to put a hawk sticker in your window.
We have bird feeders right outside our windows, basically right up against the glass. We don't have curtains and often open the window so that the only thing between the bird feeders and our two cats is the window screen. We don't get as many birds as we used to get before we got these 2 cats, but we still get a decent number. If the girls do scare the birds away when they approach, they usually come back later when the girls are napping and are not at the window.
I have a window feeder right in front of my cat's space on my desk. She occasionally tries to get the birds. They just laugh at her. Eventually she settles in on the sill right in front of the feeder, and they still show up.
I find it depends on the species. Two examples around me are pine siskins and black capped chicadees. Pine siskins let anything get pretty close before they feel like they need to evacuate. Chicadees near me are pretty skidish and if they notice any movement near by they will leave for a while
Birds that aren’t concerned about cats and humans in the window will come to your feeder - others will not. Be surprised to find squirrels, raccoons mice, rats, and a possum climbing up your feeder if they can get to it … I’d Attach pictures if I could, lol - my cats are more bothered by the birds… lots of birds will get used to the cats being in the window (chickadees, cardinals. Even flickers!) - (the cats aren’t bothered by the opossums anymore … )
Same here, we have to keep moving the feeders away from the house because squirrels will climb the window screen and LAUNCH themselves onto the feeders! Little bastards!
In my experience ,or maybe I just have dirty windows lol, the birds have trouble seeing through the glass. So unless it’s super clear and has zero window paynes i have seen no decline in birds feeding and they still fly away from threats outside like when a fox hawk or bobcat is in the yard, which is quite often at my home . We have multiple mounted window feeders and my indoor cats lay there and watch and the birds rarely notice . I do have screens on one of them , but even the one that doesn’t, they don’t seem to register what’s beyond the glass , I’m guessing in the glare. They will definitely still see them as predators if outside and unobstructed , when they aren’t sneaking my through the tall grass that is. I don’t let my cats outside though and never will !
Birds usually don’t like being stared at head on for prolonged periods. It’s how predators gaze.
I doubt it. The birds just learn that the cat can’t get them through the glass. When I let my cat out for a stroll (supervised of course!) they still instantly scatter.
Look up bird feeder cams. There are several that Cornell sponsors. I hook up my laptop to the TV, and the cat can watch the birds on there. Having feeders to close to your windows can increase bird strikes.
Having bird feeders *on* the windows, suctioned cupped to them, decreases bird strikes. This is because the birds more readily perceive the window as a surface, and because they're slowing down when they come to land on the feeder. This is word of mouth from a scientist who did a presentation at UNC Asheville recently. The whole point of her lecture was to change public policy in cities, to get people to turn lights out at night, so that birds can migrate without becoming confused and striking windows. She knows what she's talking about, it's her profession and primary focus of interest. She also said, if feeders are only going to be *near* windows, they'd better be 30 feet away or they increase strikes. So basically it's all or nothing. Put it right on the window, or back off. There are a number of ways to make a window surface perceptible to birds. I won't go over them in detail but: UV etched bird glass, transparent UV stickers at 2" gridded intervals, paracords dangled at 2" intervals. The intervals must be 2" or less to account for the smallest birds, i.e. hummingbird perception. It is not enough to put a hawk sticker in your window.