Very noisy bird

[Cicciograna]

There is a very, VERY noisy bird that starts chirping very early in the morning. I have tried to keep the window closed, use earplugs, use some white noise generator, but the bird is so noisy that it keeps waking me up as it starts chirping. I downloaded a bird identification app, and it says it's an American Robin, and looking online i found that these birds sing throughout the entire mating season, which lasts until JULY.

Does anybody of you have any suggestion on how to handle this? I am losing my sleep (and my mind) on this pest, it's so noisy that i can't hear myself think. Just for context, I live in Philadelphia.

Thank you all.

[Imbalance]

City people...

Get a cat.

[Scarlet Knight]

We get robins all the time; they're considered an early sign of spring. I'm surprised it's so bothersome as they aren't as noisy as other common birds like blue jays. Is there a tree near your window?

Cats are efficient killers but indiscriminant. Sadly , an article in the NY Times just mentioned that we have lost 1/3 of our bird population in America in just my son's lifetime.

[Manga Shoggoth]

City people...

Get a cat.

The cure is worse than the disease...



Does anybody of you have any suggestion on how to handle this? I am losing my sleep (and my mind) on this pest, it's so noisy that i can't hear myself think. Just for context, I live in Philadelphia.

I have a similar problem with the local pigeons either hooting on the roof, or in trees that are pretty much out of cat range.

Really, you have to learn to live with it, unless you do something like getting an air rifle and shooting it (not reccomended, by the way, even if local laws allow it). Even then, all that will happen is that another will likley take its place.

You can do things like:

Moving your sleep patterns (go to bed earlier, wake up before the robin starts).
If you can pinpoint where the robin is, encourage it to move (spikes on perching places).
Double Glazing (Secondary glazing with a 2-inch gap is supposed to be good for noise)

[Imbalance]

The cure is worse than the disease...
...
Really, you have to learn to live with it, unless you do something like getting an air rifle and shooting it (not reccomended, by the way, even if local laws allow it). Even then, all that will happen is that another will likley take its place.

Full disclosure, my first answer was a slingshot, but I didn't think it would go over on these boards. Personally, I'll take birdsong over city noise every day forever.

[Cicciograna]

I don't want in any way harm the bird, even though I have homicidal thoughts in my brain about it :smalltongue: The worst that I would be willing to do would be to use a water gun to scare it, but I don't want it to suffer, it's just an innocent bird.
I think I will just have to suck it up: apparently robins are not considered pests and thus it's not possible to contact, eventually, authorities about them.

[Murk]

Full disclosure, my first answer was a slingshot, but I didn't think it would go over on these boards. Personally, I'll take birdsong over city noise every day forever.

Well, yes, but the two aren't mutually exclusive (you can have city noise and bird noise) and "neither" is an option as well.

Whether you have city noise already or not, a suddenly noisy bird deciding to live right next to your bedroom is pretty annoying.

[Keltest]

Find whatever its sitting on and make it less able to sit there. Tree branch, exterior windowsill, some other thing, if its really close to your window theres a decent chance you can access it. You dont even need to damage it, just put something on it that the bird wont like to stand on.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Keltest
Find whatever its sitting on and make it less able to sit there. Tree branch, exterior windowsill, some other thing, if its really close to your window theres a decent chance you can access it. You dont even need to damage it, just put something on it that the bird wont like to stand on.

Probably the best suggestion so far. You've likely seen the spikes that buildings have to prevent birds perching on inconvenient spots; you could try something like that, or possibly netting.

If you can't use spikes (and I can think of plenty of reasons why this woudn't work) one alternative is the spiky gumballs from sweetgum trees, if you can get them. Or put out a row of potted cacti and see if that works as a deterrent.



Ironically, I jumped up in the middle of writing this post because I heard a catbird right outside my window. :smalltongue:

[Cicciograna]

Eh, the problem is that I do not really have direct access to its nesting place. I can't climb the tree's it's nesting onto, and can't really throw stuff in the air hoping to scare it, as there are cars parked nearby.

A suggestion that i received is to play audio of another robin chirping: apparently robins are fiercely territorial, and hearing another of its kind around might chase it off.

[Palanan]

Can you reach it with a high-powered squirt gun? Might be worth a try, and water's innocuous.

Also, you might try contacting your local chapter of Audubon to see if they have any suggestions.

.

[Giggling Ghast]

I just did a Google search for "how to scare off a bird" and it came off with this website. Hanging a reflective object like an old CD near where the bird normally perches seems like a pretty easy way to encourage it to go elsewhere.

I recognize you can't climb the tree, but you could probably connect two CDs with a cord and then throw it like a bola on to the branch.

https://www.callnorthwest.com/2020/01/5-home-remedies-to-keep-birds-away/

[halfeye]

This is a relatively minor thing. This is the sort of thing that's irritating to one person, but another might not notice it and a third might like it.

There was a person who was righteously sued by the authorities for noise nuisance after having music so loud that it was measured at 75 dB outside their house at gone 12pm at night.

[farothel]

Birds have become louder in that past 50 or so years. They have to go above the city noise that also has become louder.

[Bohandas]

Get a white noise machine. Or leave the TV on.

[Cicciograna]

Okay, this is what I'm going to do. I read that robins are fiercely territorial: I will find online a version of the chirping of the robin, and on Monday I'm going to leave it on, speakers pointed towards outside, all day long. If all goes well, the robin will get scared of the rival and fly away.

[Keltest]

Okay, this is what I'm going to do. I read that robins are fiercely territorial: I will find online a version of the chirping of the robin, and on Monday I'm going to leave it on, speakers pointed towards outside, all day long. If all goes well, the robin will get scared of the rival and fly away.

Be sure the robin can't get in to try and fight the "rival". I don't know what your window setup is, but if you leave it open such that the bird can get it, it might get stuck or hurt itself trying to fight your speaker.

[Bohandas]

What if you got a recording of a cat?

[Scarlet Knight]

What if you got a recording of a cat?

Prepare to have shoes thrown at your window...which may not be bad if you are the same size as a fashionable neighbor. :smallbiggrin:

[Spacewolf]

You could try to get some bird of prey silhouettes of birds of prey to stick in your window or one of the hang up able ones to try and scare them off. I'm not sure how effective they are but I've seen them used in a few places and it's probably the easiest solution to try.

[Manga Shoggoth]

You could try to get some bird of prey silhouettes of birds of prey to stick in your window or one of the hang up able ones to try and scare them off. I'm not sure how effective they are but I've seen them used in a few places and it's probably the easiest solution to try.

I was literally about to post this (having finally remembered the old episode of The Good Life, no less). You can also get cat silhouettes for the same purpose. I don't think the window ones are all that much good, but if they can be hung outside they may be a bit better as the silhouette will be against the sky.

[Spacewolf]

Yea the only times I've seen the window ones work was when birds kept flying into windows in my old school so they put some stickers there to show it was solid. Seemed to work but I doubt it scared them off.

[Scarlet Knight]

I just got a catalog in the mail and one of the items in it was a sonic bird repellant. Claims : "Easy, non harmful way to repel birds". You might want to look into that.

[snowblizz]

Cats are efficient killers but indiscriminant. Sadly , an article in the NY Times just mentioned that we have lost 1/3 of our bird population in America in just my son's lifetime.
Unless you are 500 years old I doubt you can blame it all on cats. I think the more likely cause is staring right back at you in the mirror. If anything habitat loss due to human activities will be much more impactful than cats. At least cats are effectively natural predator they will select for.

I'd still be in favour of the cat. Everyone needs a tiny god-emperor ruling over their household.:smallbiggrin:


I just got a catalog in the mail and one of the items in it was a sonic bird repellant. Claims : "Easy, non harmful way to repel birds". You might want to look into that.

That sounds to me like a cheap plastic crap you buy and toss out as it turns out that there's no such thing. I'm always suspicious of things sold with claims where you can just swap out one word of it. They sell such things against mice, rodents and other vermin as well as cats... never heard anyone who could positively identify it as having actually worked.

[Glorthindel]

There is a very, VERY noisy bird that starts chirping very early in the morning. I have tried to keep the window closed, use earplugs, use some white noise generator, but the bird is so noisy that it keeps waking me up as it starts chirping. I downloaded a bird identification app, and it says it's an American Robin, and looking online i found that these birds sing throughout the entire mating season, which lasts until JULY.

I sympathise; I have a Robin thats picked a spot outside my bedroom window to hang out in the mornings, and although I haven't noticed anything (I am a very heavy sleeper), my fiance has started to harbour homicidal thoughts towards the little git. Apparently her main complaint is not that he is loud (though he supposedly is), but that he isn't very tuneful, so its particularly annoying

[Scarlet Knight]

Unless you are 500 years old I doubt you can blame it all on cats. I think the more likely cause is staring right back at you in the mirror. If anything habitat loss due to human activities will be much more impactful than cats. At least cats are effectively natural predator they will select for.

I'd still be in favour of the cat. Everyone needs a tiny god-emperor ruling over their household.:smallbiggrin:

The number for the loss of 1/3 of our birds is only in the last 30 years.

Yes, I am well aware that humans are the number one cause, due to loss of habitat, etc...although this particular robin likes Philadelphia. I mean, even Eagles hate Philadelphia ! (obligatory NY trash talk)

But that doesn't mean that cats aren't also a major source of bird loss.



That sounds to me like a cheap plastic crap you buy and toss out as it turns out that there's no such thing. I'm always suspicious of things sold with claims where you can just swap out one word of it. They sell such things against mice, rodents and other vermin as well as cats... never heard anyone who could positively identify it as having actually worked.

I always wondered how would you know if you just bought nothing but a blinking light...:smallconfused:

[snowblizz]

I always wondered how would you know if you just bought nothing but a blinking light...:smallconfused:

That's essentially my quibble with it. And I suspect most of those things is basically that.

At least the cat brings home proof of it's work.:smallwink:

[Keltest]

Unless you are 500 years old I doubt you can blame it all on cats. I think the more likely cause is staring right back at you in the mirror. If anything habitat loss due to human activities will be much more impactful than cats. At least cats are effectively natural predator they will select for.

I'd still be in favour of the cat. Everyone needs a tiny god-emperor ruling over their household.:smallbiggrin:

In many areas, my own included, bands of feral cats are a genuine problem and menace without a good solution. Theyre one of the few species that will actively hunt for their own entertainment, and not just for the sake of food, and therefore they inflict a lot more damage on their prey populations than is necessary for their survival. In areas with large feral cat populations, the birds and small mammal populations are genuinely in danger of being driven off or wiped out just from so many cats killing them all the time.

[Manga Shoggoth]

That sounds to me like a cheap plastic crap you buy and toss out as it turns out that there's no such thing. I'm always suspicious of things sold with claims where you can just swap out one word of it. They sell such things against mice, rodents and other vermin as well as cats... never heard anyone who could positively identify it as having actually worked.

*Raises hand*

We've been using the ultrasonic scarers for years to keep cats out of the garden, and they seem to work quite well for that. I actually aimed our first one at a cat sitting on the fence a few gardens down, and it gave me a very dirty look before stalking off.

The ones with the lights do seem to disconcert the local foxes; Their effectiveness for rodents and mice I can't speak for, and I've never seen them advertised for birds in this country, which is just as well as the local birds ignore it, or at least treat it as a good price to have a cat-free area...


I always wondered how would you know if you just bought nothing but a blinking light...:smallconfused:

You can actually hear them (at least, I still can, my wife can't and they drive my daughter nuts*, but for some reason they don't bother the rabbit). They are right on the upper range of human hearing.


* Apparantly, some places market ultrasonic gadgets for shops to dissuade teenagers from hanging around outside...

[Cicciograna]

Shooing the bird away is going to be complicated. While I can walk up to the trees on which he's nesting, I donn't really have access to them, because they are not really close to my windows, and they are in some other people's properties. Acoustic dissuasors (as well as my original idea of reproducing the chirping of another robin) will have to contend with the distance and the noise I will be able to produce.

I can't get cats or other animals who could potentially hunt for these birds: I live in an apartment building and animals are forbidden. Unfortunately this is a very hard situation to solve, and I should probably take countermeasures on my sid. Many suggested getting a white noise machine, or some other device to produce a steady background sound to drown out external noises, I might look into this.

[Beleriphon]

You can actually hear them (at least, I still can, my wife can't and they drive my daughter nuts*, but for some reason they don't bother the rabbit). They are right on the upper range of human hearing.


* Apparantly, some places market ultrasonic gadgets for shops to dissuade teenagers from hanging around outside...

Just wait, you'll lose the ability to hear it eventually. Your daughter as well. Mind you depending on how old she is it might be upwards of 30 years.

[Bohandas]

Unless you are 500 years old I doubt you can blame it all on cats. I think the more likely cause is staring right back at you in the mirror. If anything habitat loss due to human activities will be much more impactful than cats.

This is my assessment as well.

[DavidSh]

In most parts of the world, the presence of felis catus is the result of human activity.

[Christopher K.]

When I was in high school, my mom made a stained glass window and set it up in our kitchen. That summer, a very territorial robin would swoop in at about 1:30 every afternoon when the sun hit it just right and start pecking at the window for about 5 minutes, then leave. If you can get something sparkly near where the robin is singing, you might be able to at least disrupt its routine without causing much trouble.

[MrStabby]

How long has it been a problem for?

I ask because I remember when I have moved house I have been woken up in different places by:

Sirens

Trains

Vehicles over Cobbles

Barking Dogs




After a few weeks it was like my brain just learned to tune out all of this noise and it wasn't an issue any more. Now everyone is different, but you might find that shortly you can just sleep through it and it just stops being a problem.

[snowblizz]

After a few weeks it was like my brain just learned to tune out all of this noise and it wasn't an issue any more.

That's exactly what it is. Also certain kinds of noises more easily are reacted to. So sometimes can tune out sirens but will wake to human voices.


My friends trained their kids, well sort of, to go to sleep with noises in the house so they don't have to tiptoe around after 9PM.

[farothel]

That's exactly what it is. Also certain kinds of noises more easily are reacted to. So sometimes can tune out sirens but will wake to human voices.


My friends trained their kids, well sort of, to go to sleep with noises in the house so they don't have to tiptoe around after 9PM.

Very true. The neighbour's kid drives me crazy with her screaming, but sleeping next to a diesel generator on a boat is no problem at all (there's just a wooden wall between the bed and the generators and engines).

[Cicciograna]

How long has it been a problem for?

I ask because I remember when I have moved house I have been woken up in different places by:

Sirens

Trains

Vehicles over Cobbles

Barking Dogs




After a few weeks it was like my brain just learned to tune out all of this noise and it wasn't an issue any more. Now everyone is different, but you might find that shortly you can just sleep through it and it just stops being a problem.

This is actually a good question. I think it started a three or four days before I opened this thread, so it's about a tenday, give or take. Although in the last couple of days I didn't hear the bird in the morning, even though I heard it during the daytime. Either he moves around (sometimes his chirping is way more faint), or something like you describe has happened and I got used to it. I just hope it stays like this :smallbiggrin:

[halfeye]

How long has it been a problem for?

I ask because I remember when I have moved house I have been woken up in different places by:

Sirens

Trains

Vehicles over Cobbles

Barking Dogs




After a few weeks it was like my brain just learned to tune out all of this noise and it wasn't an issue any more. Now everyone is different, but you might find that shortly you can just sleep through it and it just stops being a problem.

There is a story I heard once about a train that used to make a loud noise as it went through a town at night, the same time every night for some years, then one night it didn't, and the town woke up.

[Squire Doodad]

There is a very, VERY noisy bird that starts chirping very early in the morning. I have tried to keep the window closed, use earplugs, use some white noise generator, but the bird is so noisy that it keeps waking me up as it starts chirping. I downloaded a bird identification app, and it says it's an American Robin, and looking online i found that these birds sing throughout the entire mating season, which lasts until JULY.

Does anybody of you have any suggestion on how to handle this? I am losing my sleep (and my mind) on this pest, it's so noisy that i can't hear myself think. Just for context, I live in Philadelphia.

Thank you all.

Earmuffs would work, as would putting up thicker curtains; frankly, the bird is better there than not, and odds are there are plenty of them as opposed to just one. Any method of getting rid of them (scaring them, cat, etc) would either be worse than having the bird overall, or not be too effective.
Regardless, you'll probably be used to it within a few months

I also recommend a sock as a makeshift facemask if you need that to get back to sleep.

[arimareiji]

Absolutely not a serious suggestion, but you might be amused by this song if your brain hasn't learned to tune them out yet:

Tom Lehrer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY), the piano-playing math professor who made a brief career of shocking/amusing audiences several decades ago.

[Bohandas]

That sounds to me like a cheap plastic crap you buy and toss out as it turns out that there's no such thing. I'm always suspicious of things sold with claims where you can just swap out one word of it. They sell such things against mice, rodents and other vermin as well as cats... never heard anyone who could positively identify it as having actually worked.

How far up the spectrum can a laptop microphone hear? You might be able to test this by recording it and then reducing the recording's frequency in a program like Audacity.

[RandomNPC]

Go to the toy store.

Get a rubber snake.

Toss it into the tree.

????

Acquire wealth.

[MrStabby]

This is actually a good question. I think it started a three or four days before I opened this thread, so it's about a tenday, give or take. Although in the last couple of days I didn't hear the bird in the morning, even though I heard it during the daytime. Either he moves around (sometimes his chirping is way more faint), or something like you describe has happened and I got used to it. I just hope it stays like this :smallbiggrin:

Any update on this? Has it settled down?

[snowblizz]

Go to the toy store.

1. Get a rubber snake.

2. Toss it into the tree.

3. ????

4. Acquire wealth.

Let me fix that one for you.

3. Be woken up by the sirens and/or sounds of fire/animal rescue climbing said tree.
4. Lose even more sleep hiding hoping no one saw you toss the snake there and want to present you the bill for your little practical joke.

[RandomNPC]

Let me fix that one for you.

3. Be woken up by the sirens and/or sounds of fire/animal rescue climbing said tree.
4. Lose even more sleep hiding hoping no one saw you toss the snake there and want to present you the bill for your little practical joke.

My local animal control said as long as they're not hurt or physically causing harm, they can't or don't want to move an animal. They suggested decoy predators, specifically a rubber snake large enough to pose a threat to the birds if it were a real snake.

I am honestly at a loss here. I've seen a number of instances of snakes in trees naturally. Did I miss your joke or did your local animal rescue actually do this?

[snowblizz]

My local animal control said as long as they're not hurt or physically causing harm, they can't or don't want to move an animal. They suggested decoy predators, specifically a rubber snake large enough to pose a threat to the birds if it were a real snake.

I am honestly at a loss here. I've seen a number of instances of snakes in trees naturally. Did I miss your joke or did your local animal rescue actually do this?

I've scared the neighbours lady half to death with a forgotten toy snake in the grass when I was a child.

I'm as confused by the idea where snakes in trees would not be considered a public hazard.

[Imbalance]

I've scared the neighbours lady half to death with a forgotten toy snake in the grass when I was a child.

I'm as confused by the idea where snakes in trees would not be considered a public hazard.

City people...

Snakes climb trees all the time without being noticed by the general public, much less causing discernable threat to them. Why? Probably to get away from hateful humans and predators, but also because there are often tasty treats up there in the form of round little delicacies placed in mud and straw bowls by noisy feathered creatures that humans also deem pests. If you ever notice a number of birds freaking out over one particular tree or something on the ground, it could be a snake.

Now, iguanas in trees on a cool day in Florida? Those are actually documented as hazardous, and public safety warnings are issued.

[Keltest]

City people...

Snakes climb trees all the time without being noticed by the general public, much less causing discernable threat to them. Why? Probably to get away from hateful humans and predators, but also because there are often tasty treats up there in the form of round little delicacies placed in mud and straw bowls by noisy feathered creatures that humans also deem pests. If you ever notice a number of birds freaking out over one particular tree or something on the ground, it could be a snake.

Now, iguanas in trees on a cool day in Florida? Those are actually documented as hazardous, and public safety warnings are issued.

For the curious, the reason is because when it cools off, the iguanas fall asleep, and therefore fall out of the tree. So if anything happens to be underneath them, theyre getting pelted with an iguana missile.

[Bohandas]

For the curious, the reason is because when it cools off, the iguanas fall asleep, and therefore fall out of the tree. So if anything happens to be underneath them, theyre getting pelted with an iguana missile.

I can't decide whether that reminds me more of piercers or drop bears

[Scarlet Knight]

Sad news. My cat killed a bird today.

I feel bad because I couldn't move fast enough to save him. Almost but just not enough.

I have yet to figure out how to teach him when it comes to killing: Fur good, feather bad.

[Imbalance]

That's the thing about cats - they don't discriminate. They extend their nihilistic acrimony toward all species.

[snowblizz]

Sad news. My cat killed a bird today.


Don't be sad. If this thread is any indication the bird had it coming.

[Scarlet Knight]

Don't be sad. If this thread is any indication the bird had it coming.

OK, now I agree with you.

The cat ( the one who is real good at killing birds) was sleeping on my front porch and this crazy bird was 1 yard away chirping up a storm at him, loud enough to bring me out to look.

Either he was drunk or had a bet with his teenage friends.

[tomandtish]

Always be aware of what you are unleashing on the world (https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill) when you get an outdoor cat.

[Bohandas]

Always be aware of what you are unleashing on the world (https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill) when you get an outdoor cat.

Where does this cartoonist live that there's all this wildlife around?

[Imbalance]

Where does this cartoonist live that there's all this wildlife around?

Where do you live that there isn't?

[Cicciograna]

Wow, didn't see this thread having so many other replies.

Just to give a sense of closure, the bird probably moved. I can still hear it in the morning, but it's way fainter and doesn't wake me up anymore, something that I ascribe to a combination of both me getting used to it, and the chirping being much fainter than it was.

No cats or other avivores needed to be deployed, luckily.