Hello to you too

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Just this morning no less.... yes, this morning.....Deb and I were awaken in bed at pre-dawn. Dark; yet  a hint of light. The first Cardinal of the day started to spout off, followed by the doves. Oh the endless doves. I suppose they are peaceful, they do have that going for them. Otherwise, simply 'breakfast' for the Coopers. 

But that is not the topic of this blog...About an hour after that first cardinal started their thing, we heard this noise. Hard to explain but the accompanying You Tube connection (https://youtube.com/shorts/3bEC5yfoeWk?si=ySD8hoJFXTkBm9-M)  will fill you in. I got up and started poking around thinking it is something on the roof, the chimney.....who knows. While not prancing, as I simply don't prance....I did walk faster than normal, as my ears honed in on the noise. To the front....the front...the front of the house I went. And there it was. This woodpecker attacking the window. Not an accidental fly-by with a surprise 'whang' at the end, but an out-and-out attack that has persisted the entire day. This behavior has been going on close for hours now. Same bird, same window....same behavior, same thump. In fact here I am writing this blog and the 'windo attack' persists. The bird has left marks on the window as you might be able to tell from the image. 

​It never stops.....it is a perfectly healthy looking bird with no gross manifestations of nodes or infections or oozing growths etc.... Just a bird. In fact it is most likely the same woodpecker I see most every day as it attempts to balance itself on the hummingbird feeder and steal a drop or two.

So I pondered.....as I do. I like to ponder. If pondering could be a job; I would excel at it. I ponder all the time.....so pondering about a bird doing some sort of behavior is not unusual.  Within my pondering routine I thought of lots of things like perhaps a dinged bird brain by previously and unknowingly flying into our window or that of another house. Or, I thought as this behavior started in the morning hours that maybe insects were warming themselves on the glass from the inner heat and the woody was grabbing a quick and easy bite. But hey, it has been hours past this time and I don't see any insects here; then or now. Was the woodpecker in some mating ritual as after all, it is a male...and maybe some kinky female is enjoying the show. But I am going to nix that theory too for no. reason other than, just because. Is the bird seeing it's reflection? Maybe....but there wasn't any light on when the bird started this behavior hours ago and I don't know why all of a sudden this reflection has become such a big issue.  Come on man oh yellow, get over it....mellow out.

But wait....I googled this behavior by typing in 'odd birding behavior and bird smacking into window on a continuous basis' and I take note. I sit up....  Penn State Extension might have an answer. Not from just one of my theories but a combination of them. According to Penn State....(And I will just quote their web site)...

"This is a problem that is most common in spring as male birds are establishing and defending territories. The male sees his reflection in the window and thinks it is a rival trying to usurp his territory. He flies at the window to try and make the rival leave."

And apparently it won't help to just close the window shades as the woodpecker in question would just find another window. The only known cure is to get an actual female and to pair them up. Once paired, his mind is on other things, after all....he is a male. Of course, who is to say the same thoughts are not within the female? 

So there you go....not some alien bird or a bird in special need at the moment, unless that need is female related, and yes, it is spring....and yes it is a window and most likely a reflection. Answer to the 'why' now  is logged in and noted. And...I pulled the blinds down. Problem solved it would appear. I will try to open them later on as perhaps the bird just needed a reboot. 

Second day...morning and going on 10am. Been a few hours and even with the shade pulled down to cut back on reflection, the bird continues to 'thump the window'. Admittedly a reflection still shows from the outside, with the shade down but hey, I tried. It is not up to the bird to figure this thing out. I can provide some assistance such as attempting to block this behavior by pulling the shade down, or by sitting outside to inhibit his window thrashing....But I am not going to sit out there all day, just to sit. Unless of course I have a glass of wine. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/3bEC5yfoeWk?si=ySD8hoJFXTkBm9-M
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