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cardinal attacking window

12 years ago

I have a female cardinal who daily and repeatedly attacks my dining room window. This is her third year at it. I tried putting a large plastic owl on the window sill but that did not deter her. I do not want to put the owl outside as it would be too near my bird feeding site. Any suggestions? I wonder how she will find time to nest and hatch a brood!!

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Comments (5)

garnet116
12 years ago
We had the same thing happen to us, but it was a male. We put in a new window on the side of our house, and a male cardinal flew into the window and 'attacked" it repeatedly... it went on all day long for months.

I printed out a picture of a hawk and taped it to the window... that didn't help. Perhaps the size wasn't right or I picked out a wrong hawk... or my cardinal was too smart.

My husband eventually put up some chicken wire on the outside of the window.. that stopped him. We left it on for a few months. The cardinal stayed away. We thought we were ok to take it off and when we did the cardinal came back, lol.

I am not sure what was the reason... I thought perhaps the male saw his reflection and thought he needed to attack another cardinal? Not sure.. but in any case, he hasn't come back in the past year and I"m happy to not have chickenwire on my window.
tmff
12 years ago
garnet116- you're correct that this is a territorial thing. Northern Cardinals- as you know- sing very loudly and frequently. This is not just for their mate (did you know the females also sing?) but to establish their territory against other cardinals. They are very strict when it comes to their territory.

They are pretty known for "attacking" their reflections, so the best bet would be to eliminate the reflectivity of the glass somehow (or just tough out the breeding season's constant "attacks").
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You need to cover the window so she can't see her own reflection. She thinks it's another bird and she is trying to attack it. Very common behavior, cover the windows.
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Get a small box. Line it with a towel. Gently put the bird in the box, cover it and put it in a warm, safe place. From this web-site's home page: You Found an Injured Bird. For whatever reason, birds have accidents too; sometimes they fly into windows and become dazed or unconscious but will recover with just a little help from us, but sometimes it is much more serious. What to do? DO NOT TRY TO FORCE FEED OR FORCE WATER into the birdÂs beak, thinking it might revive or will help strengthen the bird; doing this is like trying to make an unconscious person eat or drink. PROVIDE WARMTH: Find an appropriate sized box, make ventilation holes in it, place tissue at the bottom of the box and place the injured bird inside. Place the box on a heating pad set of LOW, then place the box in a very dark quiet place in your home. Sometimes, a few hours of rest and warmth are all a bird needs to recover. CONTACT THE NEAREST WILDLIFE REHABILITATOR (http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm) Do not hold the bird, as that can stress it and put it into shock. Here is a link that might be useful: Call a wildlife rehabilitator
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Swampwiz, For simplicity I would consider 366 for every window in your home except for the window where you want to protect your grand piano. For that window I would agree with 240. In addition to the 240, I would consider using laminated glass. The combination of 240 and laminated glass will result in blocking 99.9% of damaging UV rays as well as blocking a percentage of visible light which also contributes to fading and "light" damage. There would be a cost upgrade for including a laminated lite in your glass package, but in your situation I would consider it well worth the additional investment. 240 is a "tinted" coating, but if you want it even darker you can get a tinted laminate - either glass or interlayer as part of the IG including the 240 coated lite. So far as cost difference for different coatings, you may find that it is ultimately more expensive to mix and match coatigs than to go with a single coating for all of your windows. Some window companies are already using 366 as their "standard" coating and while I don't know specifically what either Kolbe or Monarch may charge for a 366 upgrade (if anything) - your best bet is to simply ask them what they charge for upgrading to the 366 coating. Negotiate - see what they will do for you.
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Elly_NJ
12 years ago
Tape anything - even a sheet of white paper - to the outside of the window.
bob17257
12 years ago
Here is a method which seems to work. Tie pieces of string or thread to cotton balls. Tape the ends of the string to the window frame, so that the cotton balls hang over the window glass. If you put these on the outside of the window the cotton balls will move with the wind to serve as a further distraction.
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
12 years ago
I've read that a small lamp placed on the windowsill at the spot of the attack will work (I've never tried it myself). The light coming through the glass apparently overrides the reflection on the outside.

I have all sorts of decals to prevent bird strikes - the common factor is that they all must be placed on the outside of the window.

Claire

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