Bluebirds are supposed to be harbingers of happiness, but lately, they’ve taken to pooping on my car mirrors.
I saw my neighbor in the driveway, and she remarked about watching the bluebirds look at themselves in my car door mirror.
Then when I went to my driver’s side door, I was shocked at all the bird poop now adorning my black car.
Not a big deal, or so I thought.
Cleanup should be easy enough with the hose.
But it turns out that bird poop bonds to paint like superglue.
Then the bird kept pooping again and again.
Enough with the pooping already!
Bluebirds of Unhappiness
I love bluebirds, and they’re always a welcome guest to our feeders, but now I’m starting to see them as problematic guests.
There’s a reason for every problem.
All I had to do was spend some time looking for an answer.
I quickly learned that male bluebirds are quite territorial, and when facing an unyielding intruder on their turf, they become violent and repeatedly attack their adversary.
Okay, that makes sense. I don’t enjoy having intruders in my space either.
Nature gifted bluebirds with beautiful colors not to please birdwatchers.
The bright, bold colors are for attracting females and repelling other male bluebirds.
A bluebird’s colors, songs, and postures keep interlopers at bay.
But not this intruder.
Their adversary on my car door mirror was themselves!
READ: Bird Poop Mystery Debunked
Battle the Bird is Not Winning
The bluebird uses all their tactics, including pooping on themselves, to drive away the intrude.
In doing so they’re escalating the stain, resulting in physical altercations with their reflections.
The birds can injure themselves during this squabble, and my car suffers immeasurably.
It’s a battle the bluebird is not winning, and my car door mirror is losing.
Repeatedly getting pooped on!
If you’ve ever dried scrubbing sunbaked bird poop off your car, then you know what I mean.
It’s important to note that bluebirds don’t limit their attacks to car mirrors and will fight with any reflective surface making them think an intruder is in their zone.
Think of the emu in the Progressive Car Insurance commercial.
If you’re experiencing the same situation, here’s a few things to try to prevent this beautiful bird from hurting themselves, and protecting your car from being tagged with dreaded bird poop.
Covering the Mirrors
Try placing a paper bag, cardboard pieces, or a dark sock over the mirror.
Don’t use a plastic bag because they’re bad for the environment, can blow off the mirror and in injure or kill other wildlife.
Just remember to remove whatever you place over the mirror before you drive off.
Or if your car is like mine and has the automatically adjustable mirrors, just turn them in when you park.
You should only need to cover your mirror a few weeks until the bluebirds change their activity patterns.
READ: Birdwatching Improves Your Health
Changing the Location
Try placing your car in different locations or orientations to curb the problem.
This is not always the practical choice as some people have assigned parking spots or are limited where they can park their cars.
If you own your home, then put your car in the garage for a few weeks.
Relocating Bluebird Boxes
If you have bluebird boxes in your yard, then consider moving them to a new location.
The new territory may help keep the bluebirds away from your car.
Don’t Use Balloons for Scaring the Birds
Balloons should never be used outside.
Birds and other wildlife commonly mistake balloons for food, which can harm or kill them.
Birds and other animals can become entangled in balloon strings, which strange them or hurt their feet and wings.
Balloons are bad for the environment and should never be considered as a way to thwart birds.
Cleaning Bird Poop
If your car does get tagged by birds, the best way for removing that ubiquitous substance is using a high-pressure hose.
When bird poop has become baked on, then a microfiber cloth is your best friend.
Fold a microfiber cloth, creating a thick, plush wiping rag.
Saturate one side of the cloth with a detailing spray cleaner.
Place the cloth onto the bird poop stain pouring water over the fabric until its soaked.
Let the cloth stand on the poop stain for 5-10 minutes.
Then using your fingers (we recommend wearing vinyl gloves) pinch the cloth together, encasing the poop.
Lift the poop, don’t smear the stain, and the tag should be gone from your car.
Bird poop on our cars can be annoying, but it’s a small price to pay to attract birds to your backyard.
The Bluebird is not only pooping on the mirrors of our cars, but also on the doors as they perch on the windowsill of the car door and peck at their reflection in the car window while pooping all over the door. He’s also doing it to our house windows as well. I’ll try moving the Bluebird house and see if that helps. It’s in direct sight line of our cars.
The Bluebird at my house is not only pooping on the mirrors of our cars, but also on the doors as they perch on the windowsill of the car door and peck at their reflection in the car window while pooping all over the door. He’s also doing it to our house windows as well. I’ll try moving the Bluebird house and see if that helps. It’s in direct sight line of our cars.
I am looking at this article one year after it was written! I put out mealworm in the hopes
of attacting the blue bird (fed in a blue cup no less!). A few days later, I saw my very first
blue birds (2 of them) and then the dark comedy began (or should I say nightmare). I have
never seen anything like it – the continued attacking of the car side mirror and likewise
pooping all over the car. Glad I saw this article and good tips to combat this strange blue bird behavior. Why can’t they behave like the other birds with good manners that come to the feeder! But it was worth it – they are quite beautiful. Guess I’ll stock up on microfiber clothes and paper bags.
Hi Susan. The male bluebirds are quite territorial and don’t tolerate intruders in their space. Even if the intruder is them. Such silly birds! The paper bags helped us and the bluebirds moved on to our neighbor’s car.
I took a piece of cardboard and put thumb tacks in it and put it on top of the mirrors and strapped them down with small bungee cords . After the first 2 or 3 landed on the tacks I have had no more problems.
Hi Joel. The things we have to do for birds. 😉
A BB rifle will also work as a last resort. I had to do this after the cleanup got to be too much.