Expert: Roger Lederer - 1/18/2009

Question
I have a cardinal that continuosly crashes,pecks at my basement windows. This has been going on for over a year. I have put a suet in the yew bushes he sits in. Once I put a cutout of a blackbird in the window and that only lasted a short time.Dont want him to hurt himself,break his neck.

Answer
Cardinals and many other birds are territorial and when they establish territories in the
spring they become aggressive and chase off intruders. Unfortunately, they don't distinguish between their own reflection in a window (or car mirror) and try to chase that off. The solution to the problem is to eliminate the reflection. Misting the outside of the window with a very weak detergent or soda solution will eliminate the reflection but will also impair visibility for you. Awnings, eave extensions, and window screens will eliminate all reflection and stop the collision problem. Hanging ornaments such as wind chimes, wind socks, and potted plants also help. The behavior will stop when nesting begins.