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Index of Subjects --0-1951677561-1308844982=:93876 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii You're right, this sounds exactly like a bird trying to fight off its reflection. A Redstart doing this is a first for me - normally I hear about cardinals, robins and Song Sparrows engaging in this behaviour. In any case, when a bird is attacking its reflection or striking a window, putting something on the inside of the window is not an effective way to stop it. Closing the drapes can help stop windowstrikes where a bird perceives a passage through the house between two windows, but it will probably make this window moremirror-like. You need to stop the bird seeing its reflection, which means putting something on the outside. You can cover the window by tacking up an old bedsheet, newspaper, painter's drop cloth etc or by wiping a bar of soap on the outside of the window to make it temporarily opaque. You could also hang reflective streamers in front of the window, but you'd need a lot of them. One other option that will still let light in but will definitely stop the behaviour and stop any other birds flying into the window is a film called Collidescape. It looks totally opaque and nonreflective from the outside but lets light through to the inside with no problem. Here's a link to a page describing it: http://www.flap.org/film.htm The downside is that it's a bit expensive, and might not even arrive in time to stop this particular bird, but I think it's a great idea for anyone who has a problem window or two. If she absolutely won't cover the window with anything, it's hard to say how long it will last. Some birds leave off after a few days, while others persist for a week or more. I don't think he's likely to hurt himself, but he is definitely wasting his finite time and energy in a futile battle to drive off the "intruder", which could negatively affect not only his survival, but also that of any young he may have. Kathleen MacAulay Milford Station ________________________________ From: "duartess@ns.sympatico.ca" <duartess@ns.sympatico.ca> To: Naturelist <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 11:02:38 AM Subject: [NatureNS] American Redstart (presume) Attacking Picture Window Hello All, My sister in Pugwash has a small bird (from her description it sounds like a male American Redstart) that is continuously crashing into her new living room picture window & was wondering why. I said, it probably sees its reflection and thinks it is another male invading its territory. Even closing the drapes still did not help. She is worried it may injure itself. I know she is not going to go out & put something over her window. Any idea when this behavior might stop or if there might be something she can put up on the inside that could help stop this bird from seeing its reflection? Thank you. Gayle MacLean Dartmouth --0-1951677561-1308844982=:93876 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii <html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><div><span>You're right, this sounds exactly like a bird trying to fight off its reflection. A Redstart doing this is a first for me - normally I hear about cardinals, robins and Song Sparrows engaging in this behaviour. In any case, when a bird is attacking its reflection or striking a window, putting something on the inside of the window is not an effective way to stop it. Closing the drapes can help stop windowstrikes where a bird perceives a passage through the house between two windows, but it will probably make this window <span style="font-style: italic;">more</span><span> mirror-like. You need to stop the bird seeing its reflection, which means putting something on the outside. You can cover the window by tacking up an old bedsheet, newspaper, painter's drop cloth etc or by wiping a bar of soap on the outside of the window to make it temporarily opaque. You could also hang reflective streamers in front of the window, but you'd need a lot of them.<br></span></span></div><div><br><span><span></span></span></div><div><span><span>One other option that will still let light in but will definitely stop the behaviour and stop any other birds flying into the window is a film called Collidescape. It looks totally opaque and nonreflective from the outside but lets light through to the inside with no problem. Here's a link to a page describing it: http://www.flap.org/film.htm The downside is that it's a bit expensive, and might not even arrive in time to stop this particular bird, but I think it's a great idea for anyone who has a problem window or two.</span></span></div><div><br><span><span></span></span></div><div><span><span>If she absolutely won't cover the window with anything, it's hard to say how long it will last. Some birds leave off after a few days, while others persist for a week or more. I don't think he's likely to hurt himself, but he is definitely </span></span><span>wasting his finite time and energy </span><span><span></span>in a futile battle to drive off the "intruder", which could negatively affect not only his survival, but also that of any young he may have.</span></div><div><br><span></span></div><div><span>Kathleen MacAulay</span></div><div><span>Milford Station<br></span></div><div><br></div><div style="font-family: verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> "duartess@ns.sympatico.ca" <duartess@ns.sympatico.ca><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Naturelist <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Thursday, June 23, 2011 11:02:38 AM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> [NatureNS] American Redstart (presume) Attacking Picture Window<br></font><br>Hello All,<br><br>My sister in Pugwash has a small bird (from her description it sounds like a male American Redstart) that is continuously crashing into her new living room picture window & was wondering why. I said, it probably sees its reflection and thinks it is another male invading its territory. Even closing the drapes still did not help. She is worried it may inju