Karen’s Opinion

A ding dong of a robin is trying to drive me crazy. We have 10 windows in our lodge room and it is going from window to window, slamming itself against the glass. Why?

I tried to find information on why it is doing this and how to stop it but found no results.

Since I have started seeing Robins the past few days I thought to myself that I really don’t know very much about them. So I did some research.
Did you know?

The American Robin is 25–28 cm (10–11 in) long. It weighs about 77 g (2.7 oz). It has gray upper parts and head, and orange underparts, usually brighter in the male; the similarity between this coloring and that of the smaller and unrelated.

During the breeding season, the adult males grow distinctive black feathers on their heads; after the breeding season they lose this eye-catching plumage.As with many migratory birds, the males return to the summer breeding grounds before the females and compete with each other for nesting sites. The females then select mates based on the males’ songs, plumage, and territory quality. The females build the nest and lay three or four blue eggs in the lined cup. Incubation, almost entirely by the female is 11-14 days to hatching, with another 15–16 days to fledging. Two broods in a season are common. The adult male looks after the fledged chicks while female incubates her second clutch.

Some people enjoy the Robin’s presence, and want to protect the chicks; they do this by building nesting shelves for the Robin’s use. Bird banders found that only 25% of young robins survive the first year.
Robins are frequently seen running across lawns, picking up earthworms by sight. In fact, the running and stopping behavior is a distinguishing characteristic. When stopping, they are believed to be listening for the movement of prey. Without showing symptoms, the American Robin is sometimes a carrier of the West Nile virus in the Western hemisphere. This is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Two years ago, during a horrible storm, the siding on our house was damaged by golf ball sized hail. It made holes all over the siding. Since we had to have the siding on our house replaced, we decided it would be a good time to add that room we always wanted on the back of our house. We call it “the lodge room.” It has cedar siding, a vaulted ceiling with beams and rustic decorations. We love our room.

The only problem with our room was the electric bill that came with it. Our electric bill was very high because the sun beats into our room through 10 windows. We had to do something to keep the sun out but not detract from our beautiful view. We have deer, squirrels and birds of many kinds visiting our back yard. We love being able to watch for them out our windows.

We solved the problem with a unique window treatment, the Eco-Solar Shade. These shades don’t distract from our view at all. The folks at The Shade Store can help you figure out the size you need and are so anxious to help you that they are offering a special code ,IZEA01, which will allow you to save 15% on your purchase from them! Oh, and another thing, shipping is free on all orders during this promotion. Wow! Be sure to use the code: IZEA01.

Features of the Eco-Solar Shade include:

*heat absorbent
*protection from harmful UV Rays
*reduces glare
*materials are 100% recyclable (GreenGuard Certified)

These shades are so energy efficient that we were able to reduce the amount of time we ran our air conditioner. That saves us a lot of money. We are so glad to have found Eco-Solar Shades for our room. My mother in-law liked our shades so much that she had us order one for her kitchen window.