Annoying tits - why?!

[chocccie]

I have four feeders on the tree outside my window and the birds regularly feast themselves.  But over the last week or so every day one tit (don't know if it's always the same one!) keeps flying at the window and pecking on it.... it will keep it up for minutes at a time .... why?  Is it destressed ... there is plenty of food in the feeders.

[PossumGirl]

My guess is that it sees its own reflection and thinks it's another bird in its territory.  You might see if there's something you can do to keep the reflection down (let your windows get dirty??)

PG

[Ejc]

It's probably mail and you have nice clean windows so it's seeing a rival mail that is invading his territory so the he's trying to "get" him.

[chocccie]

Doh!  it's obvious when pointed out.

Windows are far from clean !! ... much more important things to do, like connect water to house!!  But we are south facing, so I suppose it can see a reflection of sorts through the grime (which I look upon as extra insulation!)

 

thanks for your posts.

[Cassis]

In our previous house we put a mirror 3ft wide and 6ft high up against a wall and framed it with a lych gate to give the illusion that the garden continued through an archway beyond the wall.  The first spring after we installed it we observed exactly the same activity from blue tits as you describe here.  There was one tit who spent so much energy attacking his reflection that we thought he would never have time to raise a family. 

So in the end we hung sacking over the mirror until fledging time. [:)]

How would that fit with your decor?