Help: I'm being hunted by an insane robin

[LilyoftheValley]

It all started on Sunday. I was sitting at the table eating breakfast when I heard thump pause thump pause thump. I looked up at the glass doors to the deck, and saw a robin repeatedly flying into the door at whacking it with his beak. I ran out to the deck and acted menacing to try to get it to fly away. He came back. thump pause thump I took the dog out on the deck on a leash to scare him. He came back. thump pause thump Finally, I closed the blinds, and he gave up for the day. MrValley went out to clean blood off the window.

But the bird came back, the very next day…

Monday, I am woken up by thump pause thump. I head downstairs and see the robin, knocking on our window again. I close the blinds for a second day in a row. A few hours later…thump pause thump. I close the blinds on the other glass door, which he has just discovered. The bird gives up for the day.

The bird came back, I thought he was a goner…

Today, MrValley left the blinds shut when leaving for work. Yet, I was still woken up by the sound of the robin thump pause *thump*ing into the glass. As I sit here typing (7pm), I hear thump pause thump. What does this bird want with me???

Any advice to make him go away? I feel like I’m in a bad (if somewhat dull) horror movie.

[MLS]

He is probably seeing himself reflected in the window glass and, being a bird-brain, thinks it is a rival he must defeat. I’ve seen birds behave that way at shiny hubcaps. Let your window get dirty enough that it doesn’t reflect anything.

[The_Scrivener]

Cue a theme of shrieking violins, a la Bernard Herrmann…

It sounds like he may be “fighting” the male robin he sees reflected in the glass panes. You could tape a few pieces of paper to the windows (preferably on the outside) and see if that helps. Either that, or find Mr. Cocked Robin a date.

[Epimetheus]

A Robin did this to my car last summer. He kept crapping on my rearview mirror (the fiberglass part) and pecking at the mirrored part. There was constantly streams of uric acid plastered down my passenger side car and dirt marks on my mirror. I tried many things, the best one that worked was putting a mirror at the end of my driveway. It worked great until somebody stole my mirror.

That bird would flay into the mirror for hours! At least for the two weeks the mirror was out there.

[Lissa]

The title of your OP made me recall a half-forgotten childhood memory.

My grandparents own a vacation house in south Texas. I went down there one year for summer break, and witnessed the strangest man-bird interaction I have ever seen.

You see, there are these large crow-like birds indigenous to the region known as “grackles.” One particular member of this species had an intense hatred of my grandfather. Why, we never knew. It just started one day, out of the blue-- literally.

Every time Gramps would step out of the house, the bird would dive from his perch in the tree across the street, and attack. It would swoop down and grab a clawfull of grandpa’s hair, then dart away as he waved his arms and cursed. He would continue the dive-bombing until Grandpa either got into his car, or ran back inside. The bird then returned to his post, watching, waiting . . . I don’t think the thing ever moved unless it was to attack my grandfather. The bird bothered no one else.

I know for Grandpa this was a very unpleasant experience, but I thought it was the funniest goddamn thing I had ever seen. “What’d I ever do to him?” my grandpa cried plaintively.

Grandpa tried everything-- wearing a hat, putting a coat over his head, flapping a towel at the bird, but to no avail. He would stand at the window and try to see if the bird lurked in the tree before venturing out, muttering under his breath. Evil little shit that I was, I’d grin at Grandpa and say, “Would you like ME to go get the mail, Gramps?” At this point, he’d say something along the lines that he wasn’t going to let a damn bird keep him from going onto his own lawn, and march out, only to be driven back in almost immediately. This went on for almost two weeks.

Finally, it drove him to extremes. With murder in his heart, my grandfather went down to K-Mart and bought himself a pellet gun. An hour or so after he left, he came back into the house, locked the new gun away, and announced that his nemisis was no more. “I had to do it,” he said when I exclaimed about the poor bird. “I think he may have been rabid.”

[MsRobyn]

[smartass driveby post] I may be insane, but I’m not hunting you.[/sdp]

Robin

[Scumpup]

Borrow a cat or a bb gun.

[Tower_Dweller]

I was staying at a friend’s house one time who was having the same problem. Thunk thunk thunk all day. Very freaky. I would lie there in the morning and try to think of ways to kill it. :mad:

Apparently it eventually stopped. Who knew robins were so aggresive?

[LilyoftheValley]

Originally posted by MLS
Let your window get dirty enough that it doesn’t reflect anything.

Now that’s the kind of plan I can really get behind.

Originally posted by The Scrivener
Either that, or find Mr. Cocked Robin a date.

Yoohoo, MsRobyn…

[MsRobyn]

@LilyoftheValley

Now that’s the kind of plan I can really get behind.

Yoohoo, MsRobyn…

Sorry, but I’m happily married.

Robin

[Mama_Zappa]

Large photos of birds of prey - seriously. Robin will see them and (hopefully) figure he’ll get et if he goes near the window again. Maybe even a hawk-shaped cutout of plain white paper.

Similarly, inflatable “predator” - I had an inflatable snake years ago to keep the birds out of my garden, and supposedly there are inflatable owls for the same purpose.

[Jonathan_Chance]

Hello. I currently work at Bird Watcher’s Digest. This is, without doubt, the MOST frequent question we get in the spring.

The (male) robin is definitely fighting his reflection for territory. No one said they were bright.

He’s our editor-in-chief’s standard reply:

Your bird is fighting his reflection in the glass thinking it’s a rival male trespassing on his territory.
It’s a typical early breeding season behavior. The best remedy is to eliminate the reflection. Try spraying down the window with a light coating of PAM then stick some plastic food wrap over the area that the robin is using. This should break up the reflection that the robin sees when he’s opposite the windows.

Here’s a link to the answer on our website:
http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/faq/strikes_answers.html#Three

[Mr.Blue_Sky]

Batsignal?

[LilyoftheValley]

@Jonathan Chance

Hello. I currently work at Bird Watcher’s Digest.

I love this board!

This is, without doubt, the MOST frequent question we get in the spring.

Boy, I no longer feel so special.

The best remedy is to eliminate the reflection. Try spraying down the window with a light coating of PAM then stick some plastic food wrap over the area that the robin is using.

Now, I’ve heard of greeting your husband after a long day at work with yourself wrapped in plastic wrap, but I don’t think** MrValley ** would be thrilled to find our windows wrapped in it.

[picunurse]

Get a fake owl, fill it with sand or kitty litter to keep it from falling over. Thenset it on outside near the door. if possible about the height the bird attacks. Bye bye birdy.
Even a picture of a flying hawk might work, but they seem to respond to the shiny eyes of the owl.

[Ilsa_Lund]

Tips for nuisance birds.