birds do the weirdest things

Nazca boobies on Espanola Island, Galapagos Archipelago
Copyright (c) 2007 Wendee Holtcamp

Birds do the strangest things. For the past four or five days, every morning at the wee hours of the morning I've been rudely awoken by a whacking on my bedroom window. The first morning, I was like, what the heck is that?! I woke with a start, then heard it again. Something was flying into my bedroom window. Over. And. Over.

And did I mention over again?

I opened the blinds, and it abated for a short time. I fell back asleep for about 15 minutes, only to be awoken by the same noise. Whack! Thrash! A bird was just smacking its beak and body againt my window. "What is its problem?!" I thought. I got my butt out of bed, and walked out my backdoor in my underwear and a shirt I was sleeping in, grabbed the broom by the back door, and started whacking the broom at the bush. I realized the bird was nowhere in sight. I realized I could see my neighbors windows, and that meant they probably could see me from the right angle, so I went back inside. Probably would make a great viral Youtube video - Animal Planet news blogger goes crazy in underwear trying to off a cardinal with a broom! Ha!

I went back to bed, hoping I'd deterred it. Made it choose another home to haunt. I like my beauty rest!

Fifteen minutes later - whack. Whack. Whack.

I gave up, and got up for the day. The first couple days I thought it was just a morning thing, but then I realized that anytime during the day when I went back in my bedroom for various things, every single time that dang bird was doing this same thing!! I think it has seriously lost its marbles. Or if it hasn't it will after all that head-whacking! I finally saw that it was a bright red cardinal, so likely a male is seeing its reflection in the mirror. But that does not make it any less annoying and maddening when you're trying to sleep. On various mornings, I have whacked back at the window, opened the window blinds, thrown my teddy bear at the window, and ran outside to scare it off. It's a persistent little bugger. It always comes back. I thought about getting my son's BB gun...

But seriously, I couldn't hurt it. I felt bad when I stepped on a garter snake's little head while running on the greenbelts the other day. I rescue spiders and bugs from certain demise inside my house (cockroaches are an exception!) I don't like hurting anything. So I came up with my brilliant idea this morning - and it worked! I got my ladder out, took an old sarong I'd gotten in the Bahamas, and thumbtacked it over the crescent window that the cardinal had been hurling itself at. I also had a backup. I took my son's stuffed owl and placed it in the window sill.

Problem solved. I put this up at about 7am and got to sleep soundly until 9am. Hallelujah!