hi
i get crested pigeons that come to my hous and when danger comes, i've seenthem come and hit into the window. so what can i use to get rid of the reflection from the window. it's on the backyard so doesn'thave to be the nicest solution. but the nicer the better, as the others here can get on my back. looking for a cheap solution to this problem.
Whould handing some shade cloth over the window be possible?
Ipswich Shire Eastern flanks
Araminta had a neat solution. Well, perhaps not so neat. She stopped cleaning her windows.
keep giving me ideas.
how do i dirty the windows ?
Put water in a bucket then allow it to evaporate. Over time your windows will become opaque, cloudy & increasingly scungy. Birds will see them as an obstacle similar to the way Araminta sees cleaning them as an obstacle to her bird watching.
If you want a quick dirtying of your windows I suggest you wash them with filthy water, rub vigorously with weeds with the dirt still attached then allow the windows to dry. Whatever you do don't watch any of those TV ads for expensive window cleaners.
I had the same problem, raven12, but not with Crested Pigeons. It used to be the smaller birds and King Parrots and Eastern Rosellas. Only my lounge room window would be hit. I stopped cleaning my windows on the outside. It does stop birds from flying into them. I've never had a bird fly into my windows since, and oftentimes I leave the curtains wide open and there's nothing within 15 feet of my windows except grass and only a big pine tree across the road which the Crested Pigeons and Eastern Rosellas come from. Only newbies to the area (birds) will fly into the window as they're not familiar with the landscape. I'd also suggest doing what woko recommended for a quick fix to your problem. It'll work.
I'm at Tenterfield, NSW. (Formerly known as "Hyperbirds".)
An aggravating problem would be those large, mirrored sliding glass wardrobe doors. When we were moving into our house, we came back after a couple of days and our window was splattered with mud. Odd, it was 3 M up. After seeing the peewees building a mud nest in our gum tree I twigged to what happened: The curtains had been open at the time and the birds would have seen blue sky in the wardrobe doors and tried to fly through. Keeping the curtains drawn solves the problem but I will get new doors one day.
BTW I hate posting without a spell checker but it doesn't work here. Why not?
Er, Birds in Backyards members are all good spellers?
it's ok all i just put some window covering film. from bunnings. looks like one of those bathroom windows.should do the trick.
i have a new dilemma now...i want to see and experience raptors but it's illegal in this country. what can i do? i would like to interact with such creatures. they fascinate me. and i'm not actually into falconry as i don't like killing things for no reason. and it's illegal
I'm not sure of the origin of your idea that it's illegal to see raptors in Australia. Raptors can usually be seen where there is suitable habitat. Or, if you're so inclined, you can visit a zoo or wildlife sanctuary where you can be captivated by the raptors kept in captivity.
And I'm not sure what you mean by "experience raptors". Do you mean getting up close & personal? If so, then a wildlife park or zoo might be for you. For myself, nothing beats the thrill of seeing a raptor in the wild because a raptor in the bush is worth at least two in the hand.
yeah, one in the bush is even better. but how do you get close to them? they pass really high for a few seconds, or they are just far away to get too. any tips on how u get close and where/when you see them?
how close do you want to get?
where are you located?
Peter
st albans suburb, western suburbs of melb. in terms of distance, i don't know. but i 'm often too far away to identify them, and i never see them perched on a tree. they're always high up, and it's a short moment often.
have you been to the western treatment plant
we have seen some great pics on this forum of raptors from there
Peter
raven12, it's just a case of persistence and a bit of luck and timing. Not sure which raptors you're after but I've been lucky enough to witness Sparrowhawk kills literally 15m in front of me in my garden - that scared the life out of me - the noise of the impact and the resulting plume of feathers everywhere - an awesome sight but Ive also been lucky enough to be a few metres away from a pair of black shouldered kites roosting in a dead tree along my local creek, have had a hobby swoop past me earholes in the garden but he missed his target, a peregrine falcon hunts along my local creek and while I haven't been so close to him I see him regularly and one of my best sightings last year - I scared a Powerful Owl from the Acacia he was resting in about 20m in front of me, he was massive!! again along Darebin Creek. I guess my point is if you're out there in the right places often enough it WILL happen. It's a bit like fishing though, don't expect to strike it lucky very often - unless you visit known spots like pacman wisely suggests. Get out there raven12 and enjoy the challenge!!! It's worth it!! PS: I'm in the built up Northern Suburbs of Melbourne so you probably have more opportunities than me being in St Albans - you're right next to Brimbank Park too - get down there!!!
Raven12, you might also want to get hold of a good bird field guide so that you can become familiar with raptor wing shapes. This would enable you to identify raptors from afar.
thanks for the input everyone. i guess i have seen many of them already, but i don't know what they are often, and it's from afar. i want to be closer to them . yes, i've been to brimbank park many times already, and i've seen wedge tails there often enough. but i just want more... and they are so far away often enough that i'm not learning what they are, i'm not learning much about them. i saw youtubes from europe. guys just catching them, holding them, looking at them and releasing them. you learn alot like that too. but that's illegal so can't do that.
I'm curious about what you think you would learn from a raptor in the hand, raven12. Surely you would learn more from observing raptors interacting with their natural habitats.
I tend to agree with other posters about getting into areas where they're likely to be seen naturally & then being patient. It seems to work for most, if not all, bird watchers. Is there a chance you're the impatient type?
impatient. haha. that's funny. i might see if i can get into rehab or something. hopefully it's not too hard. and there are enough sick falcons out there. i read animals really well, so they should let me, even if i don't have a degree for this sort of thing.
raven12 it sounds like you need some Haelsville Sanctuary action. They have a fantastic up close and personal experience with the raptors they care for. If you haven't been yet get yourself out there as it sounds like just what you're after!!
i been there b4. it's great. love it. anyone know much about raptor rehab in australia?