Photos taken between April 19 and May 17
A male and female bluebird
They have been busy building nests and eating black oil sunflower seeds and suet at our feeders.
These pictures were taken in different lightings and at different times of the day.
One of these male birds, or maybe two, have spent the last six weeks flying into windows in front of our house. Somedays it seems to go on all day long.
We have seen and heard this so many times in the last six weeks. It is kind of a knocking/pecking sound on the window. He also makes a mess on the window as you can see.
Some mornings it gets annoying. The other morning one took me off guard by pecking on our front door window at 5:30 am. I was surprised, thinking someone was at the front door. 🙂
At times he sits on the ledge, looking in the window with a confused look. Probably wondering what happened to the other bird.
Ready to make another attack on a window.
I understand that birds do this when they see their reflection in the window and think they have a competitor for their mate.
A side view of one looking in the window after trying to keep a competitor away.
I also read that they do this when they have a nest close to the house. The tree you see on the right has a bluebird house on it. It is too high for us to look inside, but we see bluebirds coming and going.
That may be the reason why the flying into the windows has gone on for so long this year – because that birdhouse is close to our house. We don’t remember that we have seen a bluebird nest this close to the house.
This was a rainy day. It looks like he is telling me this feeder needs more seeds. Probably so he has energy to fly into our windows off and on during the day. 🙂
The poor birds don’t understand reflections! Sometimes they knock themselves out for hitting their heads. They usually come to again, and fly off to try it another time! These are wonderful photos of beautiful birds — I especially like their tail feathers!
These are more gentle taps than the birds who accidentally fly into a window – and this is continues – sometimes off and on for hours.
How frustrating — for you and for the birds!
He has backed off a bit, but I still hear him now and then. 🙂
It seems one of our bluebirds flys toward the window, sometimes flies into it, or comes very close, not in an attacking kind of way. My mealworms are full, there’s water, their house is fine. Could there be another reason for this attention to our window? I have 9 feet of window in the kitchen he is attracted to and a sliding glass door he’s working on now as well. It doesn’t seem aggressive, just constant but I can’t figure the reason. Any ideas?
My only reply is what others have written. That they may see their reflection in the window and think it is a competitor.
I noticed that this post was last year — are the bluebirds back to try again this year?
My neighbor feeds a male and female bluebird who live in her yard (they nest in her tree). She feeds them mealworm in the evening. She says they’ve knocked on her windows on occasion for food. I started putting out mealworm in the AM and they come to eat at my house in the morning. The female has now started knocking on my window. I think it’s just to tell me she wants food. She did it at 8am this morning while I was still in bed sleeping. This continued on and off until I got up and put out mealworm. None of the other birds that come to eat mealworm have knocked on my windows or gotten on my screen, just the female bluebird. She’s currently collecting grass clippings from my yard as I write this, obviously for a nest. It’s hard to know if she is getting disoriented and flying into the window or she just wants mealworm. I suspect she wants food because I’ve seen the other birds get to the mealworm feeder first and not let her on to it or fly right on and scare her away while she’s eating. I’m now leaving some mealworm on the ground where she is collecting grass clippings. I think these birds are smarter than we realize.
So true! I have whole family comming to my patio now. Started with male first in feb , two months ago. Just yesterday brought fledgling to show me . I don’t think they are interested in dry worm, there is plenty of fresh live food outside.i already have stickers on glass door . He is very smart , mostly comes when I am sitting close to that door and knock ✊ I think it likes when I whistle, play back sing to him. Bought his female two weeks ago . Wants nest box I initially bought for him in Feb, that chickadee has 3 chicks 🐥 inside . Some fighting some days by 2 parents bird couple for nest box, mostly gentle tapping and just sitting on window or net when my kids are close to door. They are funny and smart , brighten my days 👼🏻🫶🏻😇
I agree. They are smarter than we think. 🙂
We’ve had a pair tapping on our windows and coming close by the house today. Stumbled upon your blog while looking it up. We are in York… it’s such a small world! Thanks for sharing your photos 😊
You are welcome. Glad you stumbled on my blog. 🙂
I have a family of 3 at my house. I really believe their knocking is communication of some sort – primarily food. The knocking increased until I checked the nest for eggs and then increased yesterday until I checked to see the first hatchling. This year they discovered windows facing the covered deck when my husband was near there instead of the typical kitchen window knocking. I swear they were looking for him!
Birds are so much fun.
I have a pair knocking on the window now, they have been bringing up a nest of cow birds, which appear to have gone missing over night, and they might be blaming me. I see and hear the cow birds throughout the day and watched them actively harass the hard working blue birds as they feed their noisy brood.
Birds are so interesting – with individual personalities.