Cardinal Clash
The bird is nothing, if not persistent. His relentless pursuit of his own reflection in our windows is downright comical, and even a little annoying. We try not to be bugged by so much attention from a member of the wildlife that surrounds us here, but the repeated sound of him bonking into windows around our house triggers a signal in our minds that something is amiss. It creates a feeling that some sort of action is called for. We feel as if we should do something to help him get over his obsession.
The message that we received about him from the sellers, described the fact that nothing they had tried, proved to suppress his repeated acts of banging the glass. That has tended to diminish our level of effort toward devising drastic action to deter him.
Cyndie tried a couple different minor things, but they didn’t seem to make a difference. I have caught him smacking into at least 3 different windows, on opposite sides of the house. If she blocks his view in one window, he will just move on to the next one.
Her next plan is to see if she can simply talk some sense into him, and also give him an opportunity to send a message to her. I look forward to hearing how that plays out. After all that head banging, I wonder if he could have anything coherent to convey.
Relative Something 
perhaps you could just solve his problem… and let him in! hehe
orbosphere
November 7, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Cyndie already suggested this. I told her she needed to clean up after him, at which point she seemed to back off the idea. Seems you two think alike!
johnwhays
November 7, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Well, it certainly is a powerful coloring agent… which is seasonal as the color of the bird does vary. Spot the x-birder here:-)
Ian Rowcliffe
November 10, 2012 at 4:43 am
He is very photogenic. I wonder what he eats to become so red – some sort of berry? If the intensity of his color were to diminish, he might not see such a clear reflection, for all he is doing is defending his territory against an intruder, which happens to be himself in this case.
Ian Rowcliffe
November 7, 2012 at 8:30 am
I don’t think it is a result of his diet. The male cardinal is just that color. The females, less so. Too bad he doesn’t realize he is already the victor. I haven’t seen any other males in the area. Can you blame them for not wanting to be around this guy?
johnwhays
November 7, 2012 at 3:31 pm
From “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cardinal”
The plumage color of the males is produced from carotenoid pigments in the diet.[11] Coloration is produced from both red pigments and yellow carotenoid pigments.[12] Northern Cardinal males possess the ability to metabolize carotenoid pigments to create plumage pigmentation of a color different from the ingested pigment. When fed only yellow pigments, males become a pale red color, rather than a yellow.[12]
In sum, you have something in your vicinity that makes the cardinal so red:-)
Ian Rowcliffe
November 9, 2012 at 8:02 pm
I stand corrected! I have no idea what the cardinals are eating in this region, though.
johnwhays
November 9, 2012 at 9:50 pm