The Sickening Thud

No, I do not believe that is the name of another Lemony Snicket book.

If you are a bird lover, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you are not a bird lover, I am referring to the sickening sound that is heard when a bird mistakes the reflection of a tree in a window for a real tree and they fly to it. Sometimes the bird flies away in confusion, sometimes the bird dies from injury.

I've been feeding birds since I was a kid, and this is the only house that I have had problems with bird/window collisions. Fortunately I have not seen evidence of any of these collisions here resulting in death, but I am not one to tempt fate. I bought the window clings that are supposed to divert birds but they are not working for me.

I hope I have heard my last thump. I found this product called CollidEscape. Please note ordering and/or getting information on the manufacturer's home website is a little confusing, but when I called them to order, they were excellent. I received my roll of film quickly and have installed it very easily. It does make your view to the outdoors a bit darker, like a screen, but I find this personally to be an easy "sacrifice" if it means no more bird/window collisions. It cost the same as the amount of money I have spent on window clings which did not work, and it is sized for a rather large window.

There are advantages outside of the bird aspects as well. It allows privacy, as you can see from my photos. It also diverts the sun's glare. It is basically a window cling but stickier. It can be peeled off and removed. I rent, so this is very important to me. Unlike window clings, you can see through it.

I will definitely create and addendum to my post if I find out at some point that there are any problems with this film.

Here it is from outside after I stuck it to my window. You can barely see any reflection in it, as you can see by comparison to the side window:


Close up of the white side which faces outwards and is not sticky:


Close up of the black side which is sticky and goes against the window. (I have it peeled back from the window for this shot, so the white you are seeing through it is the non-sticky side.)