Michael Mengak, wildlife professor in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, spoke with Southern Living about the effect that wind chimes may have on birds.
Most wildlife that comes to yards will likely be disturbed by something new. Birds are no different from deer and racoons in this regard. However, once they figure out that the wind chimes will not harm them, they will eventually ignore them.
“There’s no peer reviewed research on this topic,” Mengak said. “My humble opinion is that they don’t scare them. Anecdotally, I have wind chimes and bird feeders within 2 to 4 feet of each other, and the birds don’t seem deterred in any way.”
Unfortunately, this means wind chimes will not be useful if you were hoping to deter birds from a house and garden. According to Mengak, repellants such as essential oils or sonic devices will also likely not be helpful.
