After 14 months of incessant attacks, Cardinalis held our family hostage. We tried everything to win our freedom and a little sleep. My husband and I wrapped sticky tape around tree branches and along window frames; we wove webs of fishing line across our five-foot windows, wired plaster cardinals to peripheral tree branches, propped mirrors in the gardens, placed plastic owls and stuffed toys in windows and baited a Hav-A-Heart trap with sunflower seeds. We threw stones at our tormentor and sprayed him with the garden hose, all to no avail.Birdchick suggests lodging a complaint with the NY Department of Environmental Conservation since the shooting violates the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. I myself wondered if the author had considered the possibility of subsequent legal action, since proclaiming the tale on the pages of a prominent national magazine would bring it to the attention of multiple conservation organizations and law enforcement officials. Perhaps penalties are subject to a statute of limitations.After living for 36 months under the siege of Cardinalis, I cracked. My sleep patterns had altered, my ability to concentrate (already declining with age) was spiraling down to about 30-second intervals. My hands were shaky, my head ached, my vision blurred. I had morphed from a cookie-baking granny to a crazed zombie. I turned away from my bleeding-heart pals toward those who enjoy a more pragmatic turn of mind—those who honor the way of the warrior.
Update: Birderblog has comments here, here, and here. Birds etcetera suggests that the incident may have been fabricated. Birdchaser warns against intemperate responses.