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The Backyard & Beyond - May 2005
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We've all been awakened in the early morning by such things as the thunder, a dog barking, the phone ringing, the garbage truck and many other sounds. With spring approaching, the drumming of the Northern Flicker (woodpecker species) on the gutter outside the bedroom can make you sit straight up in bed. But the for me the strangest early morning alarm is the recent pecking on the window glass of one of our tiniest birds in North America - the Bushtit!!! I would assume he is fighting his reflection in the glass to defend the chosen territory for his female partner and himself. But the poor little guy will never drive the ever present intruder away. I tried some bird reflector material on the outside the window but he
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used the edges to hang on as he continued to fight off his competition. After a couple days, I put the screen back in the window and pulled down the mini blinds half way to cut some of the reflection. This tactic worked…. Sort of…… Next morning I again awoke to the sound of tiny pecking on the window and the fluttery sound of tiny wings against the pane.
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Bushtit attacking the window
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He had moved around to the larger window in the middle of the bay window. This action really scared me, so fearing the little guy would decide to fly at his rival with more speed and hurt himself or worse, do himself in, I jumped out of bed and pulled the mini blinds down immediately. He quit. Whew!
I love having the windows uncovered and the sights and sounds of the outdoors coming in, so having the blinds closed bothered me so after a few days I opened them back up but the little Bushtit was immediately back again to drive off his foe. So the blinds remain closed.
The Chestnut-backed Chickadees have once again chosen to use the bird house Arden hung next to the kitchen window. They have been busy building a nest as they make frequent trips back and forth. Arden wanted to cut down the pussy willow tree-bush this winter since it is rotting but never got to it. I had told him he could not cut down the front limbs since the Chickadees are using it as their stopping spot before entering the house. I said should be ok to cut the back ones but not right now since they are busy building. He did not hear the "not right now" part and starting sawing away. I saw what was going on and asked him to stop. We could both hear the Chickadees calling and raising a protest. So he quickly departed from the task at hand. I continued to watch the Chickadees and they both returned to the tree branch, "mated" and then carried on with their building.
Sherry Hagen, Happy Birding
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