Stop chaffinches pecking windows
For several years now, we’ve had a chaffinch tapping loudly on our kitchen window during springtime. A quick internet search reveals that many others suffer with the same problem, so I’m publishing this post to share the solution I’ve found. Apologies for off topic, as they say.
The problem: chaffinch window-pecking
Window-pecking happens when male chaffinches mistake their own reflection for an intruder in their territory, and try to attack it. If the image were real, a chaffinch deathmatch would presumably ensue, with the proud victor securing nesting rights for the pyracantha and the loser being mauled by a neighbourbood cat and tossed in the wheely-bin. Since the reflection obviously can’t be killed, the pecking just goes on and on – in our case, from dawn ‘til dusk.
This results in endless irritation for the occupants of the house and (presumably) increasing pain, frustration and confusion for the chaffinch. ‘Why won’t you die?’, the tormented bird asks his reflection. ‘Why won’t you shut up?’ the infuriated homeowner asks the chaffinch. The reflection is silent, its cognate thoughts unknowable.
Incidentally, it’s worth bearing this in mind before you install a mirror in your garden, which is sometimes suggested as a way to make ‘outdoor rooms’ (please) look larger. In the garden of my old house, a small Cinzano mirror left by the previous owners was a regular target for kamikaze chaffinches. Stick a full-length mirror out there and you’d be looking at an avian Pearl Harbor. (See the RSPB’s advice on garden mirrors.)
Solution 1: masking tape
Having twigged that the reflection was the cause of the problem, I initially tried disrupting it by sticking strips of masking tape over the window. The chaffinch, perched on our neighbour’s fence with a puzzled expression, was stopped in his tracks.
For about five minutes. Then he saw through both the tape and my ruse, and the attacks recommenced – in fact, he expanded his range to include the back door. Feeling chastened for underestimating his intelligence, I returned to the drawing board.
Solution 2: cat picture
Clearly, I needed a more powerful deterrent. Then it hit me. What if we stuck a picture of a cat in the window? Perhaps it would function as a scarechaffinch?
Turns out that the internet is quite a good source of cat pictures. Recruiting my daughter as scariness consultant, I selected the most intimidating mog visage I could find in Google Image Search, roughly cut it out in Photoshop and placed the result in the window.
(Click the image below for full-size version that you can print out and use at home. The original is at Wallpaperscraft.)
After the masking-tape fiasco, I had serious doubts over whether this would work. Fortunately, it turns out that a bird stupid enough to attack its own reflection is also stupid enough to be fooled by a disembodied, completely motionless cat head stuck in a window pane six feet off the ground. The pecking stopped, instantly and completely.
‘Maybe he would have stopped anyway,’ you object. ‘End of the mating season or something.’ Fraid not. Aware that the presence of the window-cat did made me look rather eccentric, I tried taking the picture down after a couple of weeks. The little pecker was back within minutes and I swiftly reinstated it.
So there you have it. Assuming chaffinch psychology is the same the world over, and it isn’t just our fella who has a problem with ailurophobia, you can print out the same cat and deal with your own chaffinch peck problem. Now all we have to worry about is the day when they evolve superior intelligence, and the final battle begins…
Comments (16)
Comments are closed.
Such a good idea! From my experience sometimes the birds are eating tiny bugs that get stuck in window cracks or spider webs, rather than being aggressive. But annoying none the less!
Interesting. I think it was aggression in this case, since it was always the same window. The cat is still in place as I write…
Sorted! Your cat picture was effective at once (in fact we’ve used three!). Can now hear the chaffinch chirruping at a distance. Thank you!
Happy to help! Whoever this cat is, his fame is clearly going to spread far and wide…
I have this morning stuck your cat picture on all my bungalow windows – the chaffinch has been tapping since 5.00 am this morning grrrrr – fingers crossed this will work
Good luck! Let me know how you get on…
Awful cat pictures were not a success – since I last posted it has been every day from sunrise to late afternoon – work from home and am getting a little cross now – do you have any other ideas please – and if not how long is this going to continue he should have found a mate by now !
Buy a real cat? Or a gun maybe?
Thank you so much for this article! I have just been watching a chaffinch in my back garden do the exact same thing for 30mins and I was so confused! All is clear now! Off to print out a cat’s face…
Ours didn’t come back this year. Let me know how you get on with the cat deterrent.
I’m going to put the cat amongst the pigeons (chaffinches?)
I found this page after searching the internet as we have the same thing occurring.
But it’s because I was curious about the reasons and not because I was seeing it as a problem.
We have been living in this house for just 8 months, it has a bigger garden and we are delighting in the variety of bird life.
We have Dunnocks nesting, a Blackbird is currently building its nest and the thought of Chaffinches joining the brood is great.
I’m not judging you all for being annoyed, it’s just that we don’t feel that way.
We’re happy to let nature take its course and know that it’s thriving in our garden.
Very Zen, I know.. 🙂
It’s not just annoyance, it’s concern for the chaffinch.
Reflections in glass aren’t natural phenomena, and having to fight with an intruding male for hours on end isn’t natural behaviour. Instead of feeding his chicks, the male is expending all his energy on an unwinnable battle for territory.
So I think it’s in the interests of all involved if we can save him the trouble and allow him to return to his natural springtime activity.
Just having the same problem, tapping away and flying into the window, won’t belong before he injures himself. As it is his reflection In the glass, I think eliminating the reflection I am going to get some windowlene , the old type that goes white, on the outside, otherwise it would reflect on the inside, OR I will try and find some coolglass that is used for greenhouses to white the glass out.
Hope it works out. When I tried obscuring the window, our chaffinch moved on to the back door, even though it’s recessed inside a porch. Whatever instinct makes them do this, it’s clearly pretty powerful…
Can these birds be in the uk
Nice idea. This picture will be beter http://www.artsfon.com/39522-mustache-eyes-cat.html