Well, we have critter issues here, this week, too. I haven't got a picture of this winged varmint yet, but I've had a stare down contest with him several times already, and it hasn't phased the little bugger one little bit.

For the last three days, we've had an enormous male robin beating on our windows, starting shortly before sunrise, and going all day. Don't think of the cute little worm hunter you usually see this time of year. This is a snarling little beast with vengeance in it's eyes.

Shooing him away works for about 20 minutes, and then, he's back again. We thought he was seeing himself in the windows, and attacking what he thinks is another male robin in his territory, but if so, he has a screw loose. I opened the curtains and turned on the lamp inside and stood there watching him. No effect. When I chase him away from the windows, I can hear him hitting the side of the house, instead.

My wife took some of her knitting yarn and hung that in the windows. So far, it has slowed him down, but every so often, I still hear a 'thunk'. I went out and bought some big shiny stars that I'm going to tape to the windows. They are red stars, which will probably confirm the neighbor's suspicions that we are really communists over here.

We found out our neighbor has nets over his window because he's had this problem in the past. Last year, we had a female robin that insisted on making nests on our front porch. We'd move the nest, and the next day, there would be another one! This went on for several days. These birds are persistent!

We have many other kinds of birds around here, and they are mostly benign. There is a woodpecker I'm going to shoot someday because he likes the side of my house, too. But other than that, they are actually beneficial. The bluejays keep the undesirables out (though some consider the jays to be undesirables). But these robins must have the killer instinct! When you see one from now on, realize that he is quietly plotting your death!