By: 2yellowhead On: Wed Mar 23, 2011 3:58 pm
Male Cardinals and other birds are territorial, especially during Spring mating season. Since mirrors don't exist in nature, they don't understand reflections, and believe the image is a competing intruder. It's actually very stressful for the birds as they spend time chasing the imagined invaders instead of nest building and other more productive activities. The easiest thing to do is place a paper or plastic bag over the rear view mirror, or turn them inward if they are hinged, while the car is parked. Yes the poop is annoying, but it's nothing like the pcb's and other poisons that humans leave behind. We're also not so tidy with our poop, since millions of gallons of untreated waste are knowingly dumped into rivers by some of our municipalities that have old or insufficient infrastructure.