Spring mating season gets birds so excited they might be charging into your windows

A robin looks for a meal in the grass. According to experts, it's not uncommon for the birds to get territorial as breeding season approaches.

It sure can be nice to enjoy that view as spring — crash — approaches.

Unless of course a robin or cardinal is repeatedly flying into the pane, ruining your peaceful glance outside.

Well, it’s common for the birds to get territorial leading up to breeding season.

They’re so jealous, in fact, that the sight of their own reflection could encourage them to attack.

“It’s almost always males. Females are smarter,” said Stan Roth, a retired Lawrence High School biology teacher.

Roth said ornithologists have determined that birds during the breeding season will first vocally try to engage the bird they see in a reflection because they think it’s a competitor.

“If that doesn’t work, they may try an attack mode and bash into a window,” Roth said.

And some birds might be so competitive that it’s hard for them to give up. The window thumping can last for hours or over the course of several days.

Outside of the breeding season, birds can often fly into windows if predators, like hawks, spook them. In those instances, the birds can often injure or kill themselves because they are trying so hard to escape from the hawk, Roth said.

Several bird-watching publications suggest taking steps to reduce the reflection outside, like pulling down shades, putting screens up or even soaping your windows for a couple weeks during the spring.

Roth said several buildings with large windows or a breezeway are often decorated or shaded to make the glass appear more like a barrier for birds.