What the heck, this wild bird is constantly tapping at the window…
We are in the middle of winter and getting our 1st snow here in NE Atlanta. The store is fairly quiet giving me the chance to cover a topic that is about to happen all over the Northern Hemisphere.
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| The male northern cardinal has know to tap on windows until his beak bleeds. |
In a few short weeks it will be nesting season. Here in Johns Creek, GA it all starts right around March 1st. Very soon the chickadees and the bluebirds will start fighting for nesting boxes and the season will begin.
This beautiful, bountiful season where broods will be hatched, chicks will grow, and fledglings take their 1st flight has but one little downfall.
"I can't keep that darn wild bird from tapping on my window!"
Our customers will start coming in with the same complaint all season long especially concerning bluebirds and cardinals. These particular birds will come to a window or a car mirror and just start pecking. They will peck, peck, peck well past the time their beaks start to bleed. It's obviously a stressful time for the bird and it worries the homeowner to death.
The problem here is that modern window manufacturers have learned how to keep UV rays, moisture, and noise all on the outside of a window and they've learned to keep home air-conditioning and heating inside the house. But... They have not learned or haven't chosen to produce a window with a matt finish. All (that I know of) current windows manufactured around the world are given a glossy, shiny finish.
This window finish reflects everything that comes in near contact with it. Including... you guessed it, that crazy wild bird.
As it turns out the crazy bird isn't so crazy. In fact what is actually happening is that the bird is protecting it's territory. As it flies over its personal territory it notices another bird encroaching on its real estate. That just can't happen during nesting season. After nesting season, before nesting season, no problem but during - during nesting season their can be only one male cardinal per location or one female bluebird per area.
The result is the bird sees the "other" bird in the window and stops to attack it by pecking at it all day long. Naturally you've probably guessed that the "other" wild bird is actually the same bird's reflection.
So how do you stop this issue? Simple... put something on the window that will break the sheen. Crumple up some saran wrap and stick it up there or "paint" the glass with artificial spray-on white Christmas tree flocking (we actually sell this, it is call "stop window attack" by Window Alert). Or, you could simple put up a piece of cardboard on the outside of the window. All these methods and more work.
Be creative the only thing you have to do it break window's sheen so it doesn't reflect the bird own image. For more information stop by your local wild bird store, I'm sure they have heard of and and have already solved this issue.
David Peterson is the owner of the Best Nest of Georgia, Inc. which includes in its corporate family a retail store called the Wild Bird Center of Johns Creek Georgia. The Wild Bird Center focuses on bringing nature to your backyard using bird seed, bird feeders, mealworms, and bird houses to attract wild birds to your yard. You can reach the Wild Bird Center at 770-418-1990 or by contacting David via email: david@thebestnest.net
