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How to Stop Birds Chirping at Night

Birds chirping at night can be frustrating sometimes. It is because some people just can’t sleep when birds are chirping. But the question is how to stop birds chirping at night?

Birds chirping sound can be suppressed by either placing a fan in the room or by playing relaxing music. Another effective way is by using earplugs which work like a charm.

As you know, I’ve advised a few techniques for avoiding the chirping of birds at night. The problem is that you can’t just quell them right away. However, if you truly understand the situation, maybe you can do something about it.

Let’s take a closer look at the situation and see how to stop birds chirping at night.

Why Do Birds Chirp at Night?

How to Stop Birds Chirping at Night

There might be several reasons why birds chirp at night.

  1. Due to high temperatures, when they can’t tolerate it they will start singing to comfort themselves and their baby birds. 
  2. If the baby bird is in the neighbourhood, probably fallen from the nest or left behind, he or she will start signing at night. Baby birds chirp at night to let their mamas know where they are and they are still alive.
  3. Whenever there is a predator around and birds see it, they will start chirping loudly. The main reason is to scare away the predator and raise an alarm of the potential threat. 
  4. Some birds don’t like the presence of other birds in their territory, therefore, they sing at night constantly. The reason they do so is to let other birds know they are in someone else’s territory and they should back off. This usually happens when you have different types of birds in your yard. 

How to Stop Birds Chirping at Night

Here are some of the effective ways that can prove helpful when it comes to preventing birds from chirping at night.

Use White Noise

You can turn on a fan, or you can play some relaxing music. I personally recommend utilizing both methods since they’re both effective. If your neighborhood is having a power outage, simply use a radio which will surely provide the kind of noise that you’re looking for.

White noise is quite helpful when it comes to preventing birds from chirping. If you cannot tolerate the noise, make sure to use earplugs in order to achieve better results.

Deterrent Sounds

You can also place some deterrent sound machines near your window. Deterrents might not be 100% effective because the sound only works if the other party is sensitive to it. So if you’re dealing with super-sensitive birds, this might not work for you.

If you want to try deterrent sounds, make sure to program them to be activated when birds sing. I haven’t tried this myself but I heard it works like a charm since the sound only comes on after the bird has sung.

Bird Netting

Oh I love bird netting, not because it works but because of the name. Jokes aside, this method might be a good way to stop birds from chirping at night.

If you want to try bird netting, make sure to purchase one which goes all the way up to your roof’s edge as well as around your window. If you have a porch, make sure to purchase one for that area as well.

Be Patient

As I’ve said earlier, if the reason for chirping is high temperature, then it will take some time before they go back to their usual pattern. Make sure to place fans inside your house so that they can cool down quickly.

Of course, you cannot control everything so it’s a must to be patient. I know that having chirping birds at night is quite frustrating, but the moment they have gone back to their usual pattern, all your worries will go away in a flash.

The above are some ways to prevent hearing birds chirping at night. However, there are some birds that usually love singing at night. If you learn about them maybe you can scare them away from your yard and sleep peacefully at night.

Although scaring birds is not my favorite topic because I love them but I am personally a heavy sleeper. I can sleep in any kind of noise without any issue but some people have very light sleep and they can wake up with the slightest sound around them.

Birds That Sing or Chirp at Night?

Common nocturnal singers include:

  • Whip-poor-wills
  • Great Horned Owls (these are the most popular as they do it every night regardless of weather).
  • Chimney Swifts (these species sing near their roost sites and usually during mating season).
  • Chuck-will’s-widows.
A sparrow just took bath and drying its feathers

Why Do I Hear Birds Chirping at 3 Am?

Birds are most active in the early mornings, so you can hear them at 3 am because of this. Also, some birds sing more loudly while it’s raining so if rain has woken you up, chances are there will be a bird near your window making noise.

What Birds Make Hoo Hoo Sounds?

The ones that make hoo-hoo sounds are usually owls. As for their actual identity, it could be the male or the female; that’s why hearing this sound at night can be easily mistaken with other species.

  • Barred Owls (these birds sing during mating season).
  • Eastern Screech-owls (these ones sing during the mating season too).
  • Eastern Whip-poor-wills.
  • Great Horned Owls (they’re capable of making a variety of different sounds, but the most common one is hoo-hoo).

Nightjars also make a similar sound at night and they include:

  • Chuck-will’s-widow
  • Common Nighthawks
  • Greater Antillean Nightjar
  • Pauraque
  • Lesser Nighthawks
  • Common Poorwills

What Sound Will Scare Birds Away?

It depends on the species of birds you want to scare away. If you have a bird problem, for example, crows or pigeons or some other type of bird then one sound that can help with this is a hawk screech.

Some people will even use an air horn as it’s loud and usually scares birds away pretty quickly. Another great sound is a bird banger. This is now illegal to use, but if you know what you’re doing and be careful it can do the trick!

Is it Cruel to Scare Away Chirping Birds at Night?

sparrow chirping

The way you go about scaring the birds away is very important as you don’t want to hurt them. In fact, one of the best ways to scare them away is to mimic their predator.

So if your problem was crows, for example, a great sound would be an owl screech. Owls are natural predators which means they won’t be scared of this sound.

Also, you can try to mimic their call – if it’s early into the morning then chances are the birds will still be awake and you might be able to scare them away with some imitations.

There is no right or wrong way of doing this; it all comes down to experimenting until you find what works for you and then just sticking with that method.

However, I personally think it is cruel to scare them away at night just for the sake of my personal comfort. It is because diurnal birds can’t see at night and thus they can fall into danger.

Final Words

If you have an issue with birds chirping at night, follow the information I have provided in this article.

Hopefully, it will help with your problem. But if you try one thing and it doesn’t work, then that’s okay because there are still other options to choose from.

If you know of any tips or tricks, share them with me by writing your thoughts in the comment section below. Your feedback is more than welcome!

Thank you for stopping by!

Until next time!

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