[Bristol-Birds] The Bluebird That Won't Quit
- From: "Roger Mayhorn" <mayhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Bristol Birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 01:51:15 -0500
Hi All,
Last March a pair of bluebirds began nesting in one of our yard nest boxes. On
March 3rd the male took a dislike to his image in the mirror of our SUV. He
fought his image relentlessly, either in the mirror or in the window. We
finally felt sorry for him and covered the mirrors. He continued to fight the
windows, so we lowered the windows, so he couldn't see himself. He then went to
the back of the vehicle and fought his image there. When he was fighting the
mirror he would get so agitated that he would hop up on the mirror and turn and
bite himself in the back. As he did this he leaned backward. Each time he bit
himself he leaned a little more, until finally he fell from the mirror. He
would then fly back up and continue the battle.
Next we tried putting a plastic owl on top of the vehicle. That didn't bother
him in the least.
In April we tried taping pinwheels to the mirrors. The pinwheels were very
shiny. He saw himself in those and fought them.
In spite of all of this fighting this little guy has managed to raise two
broods of young. In fact in mid-summer I looked out, and he was fighting the
SUV mirror with young ones looking on.
He has continued to fight his image all summer and into the fall. Yesterday,
November 24th on a cold (27F) frosty morning he was out there fighting his
image.
For those interested I have photos of most of this. They can be seen at
http://www.pbase.com/mayhorn/hyped_bluebird
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Buchanan County
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