Hey! Bird! Stop that!

[wiliqueen]

We have acquired a female cardinal who keeps flying into our downstairs bathroom window.

I've heard of birds flying into big picture windows when they couldn't tell that it wasn't open space, but this is a little octagonal "porthole" that cranks open (swinging out about 30 degrees) and has plastic faux pane dividers. (Edit: Like this, and all of

Comments

[icepixie]

We had some keep flying into the glass door to the patio. My mother put cling-film snowflakes on it, and I believe they stopped. (There may have been an especially stupid starling that did it once more, but that would be it.) I recommend some kind of stick-on decal, preferably big, and preferably several of them.

[wiliqueen]

What's blowing my mind is that this kind of window. And about 14 inches across. There's hardly anything there to get confused by!

It's gotta be the reflection thing.

[kevenn]

Poor crazy bird. LOL. Maybe try covering your window outside with aluminum foil this weekend?

[wiliqueen]

That's a stopgap I hadn't thought of. We're going to be looking for something to put on the outside so it doesn't reflect, since that has to be the problem. With the crosshatch thingies, the largest clear part of the window is literally six inches square.

[maiac]

I have translucent maple-leaf-shaped decals on my back windows so birds won't fly into them. I got the decals from a store that specializes in bird feed, feeders, etc. There's probably a similar store in your area.

In 101 Things You Can Do to Help Birds, ornithologist Laura Erickson advises placing the decals no more than a hand's width apart. But with a window as small as yours, you'll only need a few.

[wiliqueen]

With the crosshatch thingies, the largest clear part of the window is literally six inches square. It's got to be the reflection thing.

[oxbastetxo]

One of the best things for keeping birds away, being it banging into windows, nesting in the eves or pooping on the BBQ....take a paper or foam plate and draw two big black eyes on it. You just needs to put to big spots for eyes. They thing it something really big looking at them. It sounds hoky, but it really works. Hang them around in hanging baskets, in windows to keep the birds from being a pest.

And best part..it's cheep.

Another way to keep them away from windows is to hang an alluminum pie pan in the window.

[wiliqueen]

Either of those would cover almost this entire window! But it's good information to have.

[diannelamerc]

For a temp solution I'd think a bar of soap/some dishwashing liquid/a bit of dirt on the outside just to kill the reflectivity (because you're right--if it's not the attack thing, then she's really seriously hit her head one too many times already :)

[wiliqueen]

*nods* I was thinking hairspray -- propmaster's trick for mirrors on stage. :-)

Hopefully I can find something this weekend that will work more long-term. There has to be some kind of film to simulate frosted glass or something.

Edit: And, according to the link provided by gryphonslair, it's called CollidEscape. Yay, internets!