Let’s get one thing straight from the get go; I love wildlife and all sorts of animals, including the less popular ones like spiders and rodents. I really like birds and birding but there are limits, and I have hit one of them.
As summer approaches, it comes time for sleeping with the windows open and therein lies the rub. A few years ago, there was a juvenile mockingbird that decided to roost in a tree near my kitchen window. For those unfamiliar with this particular species, mockingbirds are very adept at, well, mocking other birds. Their abilities to imitate other birds’ songs and calls allow them to obtain a territory that would otherwise have to be shared with several other types of birds. Unlike almost all other birds mockers also sing at night, and this is the problem.
With the juvenile bird it was pure torture. It had only mastered one or two songs and it would repeat them ab nauseum until dawn. Imagine a “tweedle-dee-tweedle-peep-peep” reiterating endlessly all night long and you get the idea. A skipping CD or LP album becomes an exciting prospect after a few hours of this.
My solution, back then, was too bend the local law to my will. One or two (instead of ten) pumps of my air pistol and a single BB for a load, an exit velocity of 20-40 feet per second (instead of 600), a few rounds placed rather near the offending songster solved the problem.
Now the sucker is back with a vengance. He’s built up an admirable repetoire of car alarms, cell phone ringers and more than twenty other bird songs. He’s also singing all fricking night long! He’s not roosting in the same tree, so I can’t loose a few more rounds in his general direction. What’s a sleep deprived, air pistol toting maniac to do?
Any suggestions or other consoling stories of avian angst?
I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve heard that if you blast him with your stereo for a couple of nights, all night, he’ll surrender to superior powers and go away.
Of course, this method depends largely on the proximity of your neighbors.
Peace,
mangeorge
How about getting a cat? Or two, or three. But not everyone is a cat person, and what do you do with Fluffy once the little avine Sinatra has been dispatched? Perhaps you can keep him/her for continuing enforcement of the “no birdsong zone.”
And as for weaponry, it seems that an air pistol is lacking in, shall we say, permanence. I’m thinking a few choice grenades lobbed in the general direction of the offending noisemaker will demonstrate to the bird the wisdom of relocating to another neighborhood. Flamethrowers are even more useful. Even if you miss and torch the surrounding foliage, it will ensure that the bird will no longer have a perch to return to for its nightly serenades.
However, a solution involving armaments is likely to perturb your neighbors, not to mention raise a few eyebrows from the kindly folks at the local police and fire departments. So perhaps some earplugs would do in a pinch. There are some very good ones out there than can be obtained inexpensively (check out the pharmacies). Look for the highest NRR (noise reduction rating) you can find.
Two things you might try Zenster, hit your local Wild Bird Store and get a decoy owl to attach in your Mockingbird’s tree. Secondly, you might try to download the sound of a Sharp-shinned hawk and play it back to your un-welcome guest. http://www.ronausting.com/sharp-sh.htm
Alternately, you might play your recording of Birdfingers
LARRY CORYELL
The fluttering fretwork of this fleet jazz gemstone sparkles with a crystal clarity.
If you play it repeatedly out your window, perhaps you can eventually throw away your recording and listen to it live.
Zenster, I totally understand your situation - I too have a mockingbird that sings at 1:30 in the A. of M., right outside my window.
Likely you have an unattached male, showing off his stamina for the lady mockingbirds (“Hey, look at me, I am strong and can sing at all hours of the night. I’d make a darned good mate.”) It’s a guy thing. (Ironically, I have found that most of the ‘midnight warblers’ sing in the middle of the breeding season, when all the ladies are already occupied with broods of their own. Timing, guys, timing…)
Anyway, you may have some luck with the recording**, probably less likely with the owl - plastic owls work for awhile, but the birds get can get used to it, especially if the statue is stationary - these work best if there is a rotating base and the statue can turn in the breeze.
Probably your best bet is a set of ear-plugs. I’ll check for more alternatives.
**although you may find mockingbirds flocking about trying to drive off the predator - mockingbirds are very aggressive, and will mob together trying to drive off crows and other larger birds. Even a single mockingbird can annoy or cause significant physical damage to a hawk. This morning, on the way to work, I saw two mockingbirds dive-bombing and caroming off the head of a Red-shouldered Hawk, minding its own business sitting on top of a lightpole. The hawk finally had enough of the mockingbirds circling and bouncing off him/her, and flew off with the mockers in hot pursuit to the other side of the street.
From what I’ve read, Mokingbirds aren’t afraid of anything, so a rubber owl probably won’t work. Now if you only had an Apache helicopter…
Anyway, in my ill-considered opinion, it looks like your options are:
[ul]
A)Drive him away. You’ve already tried this without too much success. Without knowing the lay of the land where you live, I can’t offer too much advice here that wouldn’t annoy the neighbors.
B)Terminate the little twirp. Like you, I don’t favor killing anything without a very good reason, so I would consider this a last resort sort of thing. It can also be both difficult and unpopular with the neighbors/authorities. I should tell you about the ‘Great Squirrel War’ sometime.
C)Trap the feathered terrorist and ‘re-educate’ him, or keep him for a pet. Requires a large cage and a black-out blanket. Mockingbirds can be lured with fruit.
D)Introduce aural countermeasures into your environment. Go to sleep with music or some source of ‘white noise’ in your bedroom. The kids gave the Mrs. one of those little water fountains for Christmas which she installed in our bedroom.
I got used to it pretty quickly, and it does block some of the outside noise. It also adds moisture to the air, potentially a good thing. [/ul]
Good luck Zenster, and remember: “this too shall pass”.
I feel your pain. My apartment complex is right next to a small wildlife preserve and we get loons. Very, very irritating. They only seem to get frisky really early on weekends.
NO and NO!!! Not sure about the laws where you are, but most North American bird species are covered under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as well as the possibility of state and local statutes.
Major permits and hoop-jumping are required for termination or trapping.
Side notes:
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1917 treaty between the US and Canada, Mexico, Russia and Japan) protects all common wild birds found in the United States except the house sparrow, starling, feral pigeon and reisdent game birds such as pheasant, grouse, quail and wild turkey. Resident game birds are managed separately by each State.
Hopefully, he (the bird) will find a girlfriend soon. This lasts usually only through breeding season.
Forgiven.
I was not sure if you were serious or not, and ol’ Zenster could have landed in a “biggol’ heap o’ trouble”.
Birds and legalities are something I deal with daily, and there are people who seriously would do what you suggested.
Then I am doubly sorry. The last thing I would want to do is get Zenster in trouble, but I think I know him well enough to know he wouldn’t take me seriously about hurting the little guy.
This is one of those all-too-frequent times when I wish I’d just kept my virtual mouth shut.
Now that we have been reassured that Zenster’s not going to jail, here’s the ultimate solution;
Enjoy the birdsong. Put it in a peaceful place. You know, zen that little rascal.
Peace,
mangeorge
[/Sister Mary Elephant]
No need for anyone to fear. The last time (almost five years ago) I knew exactly where the spent BB’s were landing (in my friend’s yard, who wouldn’t mind). Even if I had hit the bird dead on, the low velocity round would have knocked him off his perch and that’s about it.
His new perch is much farther away this time and I in no way want to send any projectile out with that much reach (20-30 yards instead of only 5 or so) into the yards of strangers. As I get older, paying attention to the law makes even more sense, go figure. Again, I don’t enjoy killing animals needlessly, nor do I like predation upon songbirds (which are losing their habitat at an alarming rate). So, not many alternatives present themselves.
One of the few would be to use a pocket rocket (small wrist rocket slingshot) and small raw whole tomatillos for loads (low impact round). Just do a light pullback on the launch and it shouldn’t be fatal at all. Now I’ve got to see where I can buy one. Jeepers creepers! Something Zenster doesn’t already own. I think I’m onto a quasi-legal solution that won’t break windows or kill birds.
Of course, my sluggard of a cat hasn’t showed the least interest in assisting with the situation. Then again, I’ve seen mockers fearlessly beat up cats, so it’s no wonder. Thanks for all of the imaginative replies and sympathy. This sucker is a regular little Caruso, so I guess I’m supposed to enjoy it. It’s pretty funny when he does a microwave oven or car alarm. Hours of it at three in the morning is another matter altogether.
::Trundles off to buy slingshot::
I had a bird problem, there is a tree right outside our bedroom window which is full of a variety of birds. Add to this that I generally try to sleep between 8 AM and 4 PM and it used to be very hard for me to fall asleep if I could hear anything except white noise. The damn birds drove me crazy, I would go out on our balcony and shake the tree branches to scare them off, contemplated killing the tree, amused and then annoyed my wife with my constant complaints about ‘those damn birds’.
Finally, I just got used to it, just like I eventually got used to sleeping in daylight. Not only does this allow me to sleep through the day fairly well, it has opened up the world of the ‘nap’ to me - until this year, I NEVER slept except during the time I assigned to myself for it, unless I was sick. Now I am able to take a nap on the couch with the TV on, it’s great.
oh man, I live in bird central, I was thinking I should record mp3s of what it’s like around here at dawn. Nobody would believe it unless they heard it. I know each of about 3 or 4 species that crows at a different time starting around 4:30AM. Which is usually right when I’m trying to get to sleep. First it’s the black martins. They chirp and cackle for about 45 minutes. Then a couple of groups of finches and cardinals chime in. Then last, right about sunup, a pair of mourning doves sits near my window and coos for an hour. Oh man, it’s enough to make me wear earplugs.
I don’t mind nature, up to a point. But my house and yard seems to be a crowded ecological niche.
::returning::
And yes, I realize you would not intentionally bring harm to the little critter. As I mentioned to Bumbazine, I deal with some of the most interesting people who have the most interesting concepts of nature and interesting ways of improving on them.
Part of an actual phone conversation:
** the woman upset because a Whip-poor-will was singing under her baby’s window and walking him up every night.
ME: “Why did you buy a house next to a conservation area?”
SHE: “We wanted to be close to nature (in the suburbs, mind you). We didn’t know there would be birds around here at 3 in the morning.” (What, they only have a half-day pass to your gated community?)
