My colleague, Brooks Low, has observed the following unusual robin activity and would like to know what is going on:        Every morning and late afternoon, for the last week, a robin  perches on a shrub outside a particular window on our house, then flies up and pecks the window 3 times, flying upwards as he (she?) pecks, then sits down on the shrub for a minute or two.  The behavior is then repeated 6-10 times exactly as before.  Shortly afterward, the robin does the same thing at another specific window on the other side of the house.  Any explanation?

    Every morning and late afternoon, for the last week, a robin  perches on a shrub outside a particular window on our house, then flies up and pecks the window 3 times, flying upwards as he (she?) pecks, then sits down on the shrub for a minute or two.  The behavior is then repeated 6-10 times exactly as before.  Shortly afterward, the robin does the same thing at another specific window on the other side of the house.  Any explanation?

At 1st guess, it's (he's?) attacking a reflection or other presumed invader. That's certainly known R. behavior, and isn't it that time of year? I look forward to more expert response. Sent from my iPhone On Apr 10, 2012, at 10:39 AM, W RUPP <rupp@snet.net> wrote: > My colleague, Brooks Low, has observed the following unusual robin activity and would like to know what is going on: > > Every morning and late afternoon, for the last week, a robin perches on a shrub outside a particular window on our house, then flies up and pecks the window 3 times, flying upwards as he (she?) pecks, then sits down on the shrub for a minute or two. The behavior is then repeated 6-10 times exactly as before. Shortly afterward, the robin does the same thing at another specific window on the other side of the house. Any explanation? > > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org

    Every morning and late afternoon, for the last week, a robin  perches on a shrub outside a particular window on our house, then flies up and pecks the window 3 times, flying upwards as he (she?) pecks, then sits down on the shrub for a minute or two.  The behavior is then repeated 6-10 times exactly as before.  Shortly afterward, the robin does the same thing at another specific window on the other side of the house.  Any explanation?

CT Birders - Yes the robin see's it's reflection and is trying to chase off what it believes to be another robin its territory. Not only can they injure themselves but they waste valuable energy and time away from the nest or young. Covering the windows with toweling may work. Unfortunately robins have a very long breeding season! > > Every morning and late afternoon, for the last week, a robin perches on a shrub outside a particular window on our house, then flies up and pecks the window 3 times, flying upwards as he (she?) pecks, then sits down on the shrub for a minute or two. The behavior is then repeated 6-10 times exactly as before. Shortly afterward, the robin does the same thing at another specific window on the other side of the house. Any explanation? -- Jayne Jayne Neville Mount Vernon Songbird Sanctuary www.mvssanctuary.org

 I bought some of the WindowAlert decals to cut down the reflection and they work rather well.   http://www.windowalert.com/   Sophie Zyla Beacon Falls --- On Tue, 4/10/12, jayne.neville@cox.net <jayne.neville@cox.net> wrote: From: jayne.neville@cox.net <jayne.neville@cox.net> Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Peculiar Robin Behavior To: "Arthur Shippee" <ashippee@snet.net>, "W RUPP" <rupp@snet.net> Cc: "Brooks Low" <brooks.low@yale.edu>, "ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org" <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 11:12 AM   CT Birders - Yes the robin see's it's reflection and is trying to chase off  what it believes to be another robin its territory.  Not only can they injure themselves but they waste valuable energy and time away from the nest or young. Covering the windows with toweling may work. Unfortunately robins have a very long breeding season! > >        Every morning and late afternoon, for the last week, a robin  perches on a shrub outside a particular window on our house, then flies up and pecks the window 3 times, flying upwards as he (she?) pecks, then sits down on the shrub for a minute or two.  The behavior is then repeated 6-10 times exactly as before.  Shortly afterward, the robin does the same thing at another specific window on the other side of the house.  Any explanation? -- Jayne Jayne Neville Mount Vernon Songbird Sanctuary www.mvssanctuary.org _______________________________________________ This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org