Why would birds spend valuable energy picking fights with their own reflections? It is not because they are stupid, although their actions may appear foolish to us. During breeding seasons, birds become very territorial and surging hormone levels bring on aggression in normally placid birds. Male birds generally arrive early to establish their breeding territories. The early bird gets the best territory considering availability of food, shelter, water and the willingness of a female to set up housekeeping in that particular spot. Other males try to take over attractive territories and they will also try to sneak in to mate with the resident female. In desperation I installed a piece of cardboard to keep the robin at bay.Ī chipping sparrow flies at his own reflection. I recall not so fondly one nasty robin who woke me several days running by starting his aggressions on my glass cabin door at very first light. Over the years I have observed a number of birds engaging in these intense but fruitless battles. American crows, northern cardinals, blue jays, American robins, even wild turkeys have found reason to attack our picture windows, sliding glass doors, and vehicle windows or side mirrors. American goldfinches, northern mockingbirds and ruffed grouse are also known to engage in this behavior. At times the pecking, squawking and fluttering can extend for weeks, from May into August, especially if birds attempt to raise second broods. The “fighting” had been going on for a few days and must have left the sparrow exhausted. If nothing else, it distracted him from eating caterpillars and taking some to his mate in the nest overhead in a large white oak tree. I appreciate the sparrows thinning the caterpillar population since the oak can only take so much damage to its foliage each spring. When it appeared that its aggressive stance and sharp calls were inadequate to drive away the intruder, the sparrow launched another attack. The intruder mirrored the attack and the sparrow dropped back upon the pickup’s tonneau cover to rest and consider its next move.īy now you may have figured out that the battle royale in my driveway involved the small chipping sparrow shown in the photo, almost certainly a male, and his reflection in my truck window. The time I had with it was enjoyable.Ĭlick here to see more of my Chipping Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.Looking weary and bedraggled, the tiny bird gathered its remaining strength while staring down its adversary. I only had this young Chipping Sparrow in my viewfinder for a few seconds. The young Chipping Sparrows that hatched here this year will spend this month and next figuring out where to find food and strengthening themselves for fall migration.Ĭhipping Sparrows get their name from the sharp “chip” calls they make as they forage and interact with each other throughout the day. Earlier in spring there seemed to be a normal number of this species so perhaps they have moved to other locations due to the ongoing drought we are experiencing.Īs abundant as Chipping Sparrows are in the lower 48 during the breeding season I don’t have as many images of them as I would like to have. I am not sure why but I thought it might be worth noting my observations. This year I haven’t seen as many Chipping Sparrows as I have in previous years. This was the only one of the juveniles that came out into the open. There were three of the young Chipping Sparrows close together at the top of the willow thicket. I photographed my first of season immature Chipping Sparrow on my last trip into the mountains as it perched on a thin dead willow branch. Immature Chipping Sparrow perched in willows – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
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