Bird Chirping Keeps Waking Us up

Talla on 08/12/2022 - 07:39
Last edited 08/12/2022 - 09:56 by 1 other user

Bit of an odd situation we're dealing with at the moment.

Every single day for the past 3 months we have had a bird come outside our house (could be on the neighbours roof or our roof) and wake us up at 5am with extremely loud chirping. Lasts for a good 10 to 15mins which is enough to wake us up. I don't sleep well during the initial hours of the night due to a health condition so most of my deep sleep is during 3am to 6am.

Any ideas or recommendations on how to deal with this bird? I don't intend on killing it or poisoning it in any way so just wondering if there is a humane way to deal with it. Do the electronic bird deterrents work?

Home & Garden

Comments

      • GordonD on 08/12/2022 - 09:21
        +2

        Touche. You got me.

        My point though is that loudly chirping birds at this time of the year are often chicks demanding to be fed. And if that's the case the passage of time, them growing up, solves the problem. Until next year's breeding season.

        • Hangryuman on 09/12/2022 - 11:14
          +1

          I'll pay that - baby birds 'feed me!' noises tend to be raucous

          the noisy minor miner/myna/mynahs outside our place are most raucous, sounding the alarm by shrieking, flying, and flapping when they see the neighbourhood cat that can climb the 5m trees and kill their babies

          up to the OP to determine whether it's conversational ('waddya wanna do today' - 'dunno - waddyoo wanna doo' - 'dunno')

          or rooster style - COCK A DOODLE DOOOOOOO !!!!!! - repeat every 30 seconds between 4am and 6am - the reason I never again wanna camp/sleep next to a fence that might have an unseen rooster 1m away on the other side)

          or baby - 'where's my food !!! me! me! me! more! more! more! bring more!!!'

          the other day we saw a dead baby bird - an ibis - small chicken size - on the ground under a plam tree where we had previously seen a number of babies all noisily competing for the feeding parent's attention - that one didn't make it

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 08/12/2022 - 10:00
        +1

        Do you mean noisy miners?

        Do you mean noisy mynah?

  • jv on 08/12/2022 - 09:32
    +11

    It's probably your smoke alarm batteries needing replacing.

    • resisting the urge on 08/12/2022 - 11:18

      Esp. as UPSs tend to encounter faults late at night.

  • Loot N Plunder on 08/12/2022 - 10:32

    Play white noise of a forest with birds, then when the other bird chirps it blends in.

    Have a baby/kids, you wont have much sleep after that and then you will learn to sleep through a single bird.

  • RedHab on 08/12/2022 - 10:36
    +3

    If you are serious: Look up a boating shop online, get a bird chaser - normally a lifelike hawk or owl model.

    People buy them to stop seagulls pooping on boats. Works for a while, until the seagulls wise up.

    • resisting the urge on 08/12/2022 - 11:20

      Nothing will scare Indian Mynas. They probably even attack raptors and try to steal their young.

  • dogboy on 08/12/2022 - 10:44
    +2

    I have a similar issue. I was so close to grabbing the .22 and taking care of it the other day but have decided instead to just go to bed earlier and get up with the bird. Seems to be working for me.

  • resisting the urge on 08/12/2022 - 11:23

    Indian Mynas can be trapped if you have a large grass area where you can erect a myna cage, it's about 1x1x2m and can catch a whole family, but must be done with extreme care else they will figure it out and avoid it.

    https://www.pestit.com.au/indian-myna-bird-trap/

    One cage can go on to catch numerous family groups over and over again so long as they don't escape it and tell the others how to avoid getting stuck in the cage in future. Once inside, they can be dealt with by putting a bag over them, filling it with carbon dioxide. When the cage no longer traps Myna's move it around to other people's back yards and help others in your neighbourhood get rid of the little blighters

    • GordonD on 08/12/2022 - 16:47

      Pestit's got something similar for pigeons. I'm going to get one of those. Thanks.

    • TEER3X on 10/12/2022 - 18:10

      TIL how to spell Mynas

  • junet on 08/12/2022 - 11:27
    +3

    I had the same issue and it was noisy miners with the chicks chirping like they were dying of starvation all day long.

    I measured the noise and it was about 65-70db chirping compared to 35db for a quiet house which is what woke me up in the morning.

    I ended up buying a Lectrofan off amazon and found this post which says to put it on white noise #6 and about 45-50db to mask the noise to reduce the overall difference in db waking me up. Anyway it worked and i sleep right through utes/trucks/dogs/birds anything.

    https://noisyworld.org/how-to-block-barking-dog-noise/

    Hope this helps!

  • Talla on 08/12/2022 - 12:46
    +1

    Thanks for your suggestions everyone! I recon investing in a white noise machine seems like the easiest option! Its not a Myna but something louder ..I'll try to take a picture of it next time

    • Eeples on 08/12/2022 - 13:34

      Or perhaps a sound recording ?

    • [Deactivated] on 08/12/2022 - 22:54

      There are plenty of free white noise phone apps. Good if it works for you - didn't for me - just kept me awake because I knew it wasn't really rain/wind so kept my mind ticking over.

  • cookie2 on 08/12/2022 - 13:39
    +1

    From one bad sleeper to another here are my pro tips. You don't need to buy a white noise machine, just use your phone and put it on the side closest to the external noise. You'll have to adjust to get a sound that words and is loud enough (i have used an app called White Noise, going on almost 10yrs -brown noise is my favourite).
    If it isn't cold then the best thing is a fan, you don't even have to face it towards you).
    Other than that you could try and deter it with an owl statue or something but I wouldn't bother. Just block the noise because doing that will help with all noise in general and therefore your overall quality of sleep.

    • Talla on 08/12/2022 - 13:54

      Thanks for the advice! I'll try the app tonight. We already have a fan placed in the room but its a quite fan so maybe i need to find a noisy one!

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 08/12/2022 - 15:21

      brown noise is my favourite)

      Not the infamous brown note.

  • Euphemistic on 08/12/2022 - 13:44

    Is it a koel? Those things are noisy and tend to go off before dawn.

    Don’t forget, the more you let it bother you, the more it will bother you. Try not to think of it as something that’s keeping you awake and eventually you might just ignore it. People get used to living next to train lines.

    • Talla on 08/12/2022 - 13:55

      Not a Koel either. It actually sounds beautiful and had it been chirping during the day, i would have actually loved it! Will try to record the sound tomorrow

  • cheap-andrew on 08/12/2022 - 14:04

    I can't believe no one has suggested this. Watch the bananas for solution.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zFMCgo4sdk
    ;-)

  • GregRust on 08/12/2022 - 14:45
    +5

    Learn the language of the birds, earn their trust, and then breed with their women. In time, your differences will be forgotten.

  • FittyFitty on 08/12/2022 - 14:49
    +1

    Bird is trying to wake you up for Fajr, brother…

  • chrisn26 on 08/12/2022 - 15:50
    +1

    Seems like a lot are suggesting to change the environment. From my experience this is not a long term solution as you just cant control anything except your own person.

    It might be good to understand your sleep patterns such as if you're an early riser or night owl. There's also the possibility that your room is not dark enough causing more triggers to wake up. Also exercising before going to bed helps you have a deeper sleep. Then there's also having naps during the day (love those summer siestas) which gets frowned upon but perfectly normal and healthy. All in all, you just need to experiment and figure out what works for you.

    All the best OP, hopefully you figure out what works and not resort to drastic measures like killing the bids or sillier expenses like white noise machines.

  • [Deactivated] on 08/12/2022 - 15:52
    +1

    Birds are nothing compared to leaf blower mofos. May they burn in hell. Like, why can’t they do it 2pm and not 8am is beyond me.

  • CarpeDiem295 on 08/12/2022 - 15:56
    +1

    Wait on ozbargain for an ornithology course, study it and then learn every bird species. Identify this type of bird and find out why it does this. Use your knowledge to safely capture and relocate the bird
    Then sleep well.

  • worldpc on 08/12/2022 - 16:27
    +1

    Get outdoor cat

  • sauce2k6 on 08/12/2022 - 16:35

    House behind my neighbors dog has been barking since 3am by 4am I was yelling shut the (profanity) dog up. Still nothing. By 430am I got my car parked it in front of their house and started beeping my horn. Tonight I got all my cables ready, sub is connected. Going to be blasting metallica at 3am if the dog barks again.

    Seriously (profanity) people with dogs that just let them bark 24/7

    • [Deactivated] on 08/12/2022 - 22:49
      +3

      Ugh… around here someone walks home from the pub at 2am… one dog gives a short: "Gruff!"… then a small yapper a few houses away barks twice… then every dog in the neighbourhood is barking with their owners yelling, "F—K ME! Shut the f—-k up Rockie!" for the next 40 minutes… then one lets out another soft "woof", and it on again for 20 minutes.

  • MrKnowItAll on 08/12/2022 - 17:31
    +1

    Best solution IMO would be to get your sleep in order, I know you said you have a medical condition, but things like Melotonin (can be found cheap online and don't need a script) or prescribed sleep medications would certainly help with bringing that in line. On top of that, if you play some soft / peaceful music (search "sleep music" on youtube for instance) it'll elevate the ambient noise in the room enough that the chirpring won't wake you when it starts. We do this for our toddlers when we have one that refuses to sleep, it works wonders.

    Otherwise, throw some bird seed on a neighbours roof and it'll bother them instead.

  • GordonD on 08/12/2022 - 17:34
    +1

    There's another possibility for why a bird would be calling every day at that time. Its lonely.

    I had a bird turn up and stay and sing as loud as it could in the early hours. He was a male Indian Ring-necked Parakeet. Which meant he was an escaped or lost pet. It wasn't hard to figure out what its message was. He was using the quietest time of day to call for any others of its species. Then one day a female turned up. And was he happy. Now I've got three Indian Ring-necked Parakeets.

  • Willy Beamish on 08/12/2022 - 19:03
    -5

    first world problems geez

    • MessyG on 08/12/2022 - 19:51

      Noisy birds don't disrupt sleep in the developing world then..?

      • Willy Beamish on 08/12/2022 - 20:40
        -4

        You missed the point entirely, but more than likely in your life you are the noisy bird. Ma'am.

    • [Deactivated] on 08/12/2022 - 21:50
      -1

      We live in a first world country, what's your point. Problems are still problems(albeit op's is on the sillier side). You don't need missiles falling on your rooftop for your issues to be relevant. It's also funny how people who reach for the 'first world' problems card every time are usually the biggest Karens in real life.

  • l005e on 08/12/2022 - 19:05

    Contact your local pest management company

  • Empharand on 08/12/2022 - 19:07
    +1

    You have to show dominance, go out there and chirp louder until it flies away. Continue daily until the problem goes away.

  • nobro25 on 08/12/2022 - 20:28
    +1

    Tell Elon and his Twitter goons to back off or else.

  • StalkingIbis on 08/12/2022 - 20:43

    I bet I know what it sounds like, but ill wait for the recording.

    my dad posted a similar Q on a bird page and got roasted by them lol….."Have you no romance in your soul?"

  • hawkshead on 08/12/2022 - 21:13

    just keep a long pole and poke at it. Or toss a small toy ball at it.(gently(

  • kaleidoscope on 08/12/2022 - 21:43

    Have you tried using a bird death ray? 🤔

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xZv8c7VREPY

    • [Deactivated] on 08/12/2022 - 22:43

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxNICce11Cw

      • payless69 on 09/12/2022 - 09:26

        All aircraft noise sorted?

        • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2022 - 18:23
          +1

          I was thinking closer to earth. Let road rage idiots pass. Aim for their rear tyre… ;-p

  • mitt on 08/12/2022 - 21:47

    Sprinkler on a timer?

  • Talla on 08/12/2022 - 21:49
    +1

    Its a common blackbird! Went through YouTube videos to find the sound

  • Daddy Chill on 08/12/2022 - 22:22

    Get Big Man Tyrone to make a video Like the one he made for JV the bird won't come back

  • [Deactivated] on 08/12/2022 - 22:42
    +1

    Hang several CDs (silver type, not gold/green/purple CD-Rs) on fishing line. They spin in the wind sending sparkles of sunlight everywhere. Birds like to feel safe, to sit where they can watch for hawks, etc. With dozens of sparkles of light in their eyes they can't focus on the sky and so don't feel safe, will leave, and probably learn to go elsewhere. Clean them weekly so they stay bright. Hang as many as possible. There's also things like bird spikes and strips of short sharp plastic bits (see Bunnings) you can nail to surfaces to stop them landing. Rubber snake, as bright green as possible. Bunnings had some fake owls/hawks last time I was there too but birds get used to them. One had a rotating head which would prevent a bit longer.

    Personally I'd just get up an hour early, sit still and wait with this already pointed at the offending spot ready to press the trigger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxNICce11Cw

    Poison bird seed.

  • Seriously Cool Guy on 09/12/2022 - 07:23
    +1

    I have this same problem. The way around it is to go to sleep earlier, circa 8 PM and then wake up earlier at around 4-5 AM. It feels like living on a farm again with the roosters waking up you. In the summer time, the rooster will wake you up much earlier, sometimes an hour before the sun starts to rise.

    BTW cured my insomnia by moving my sleep pattern earlier. I'm not sure if it will work for you. Goodbye Stilnox.

    • Thaal Sinestro on 09/12/2022 - 07:37

      Birds here start at about the same time, nautical sunrise when the sky just begins lightening in the east. Winter gives you at least another 90 minutes of quiet compared to mid summer.

  • Thaal Sinestro on 09/12/2022 - 07:33
    +1

    About 10% of people are bothered by noise. The technical term is hyperacusis if you are sensitive to different types of sounds and misophonia if only specific sounds. Life is hell if you have hyperacusis; in additional to natural sounds like birds there are human produces sounds (aircraft, helicopters, cars, TVs, radios, hifis, woodchippers, chainsaws, lawn mowers, pool cleaners,…).

    You can block light with just a sheet of cardboard or fabric but it is very difficult to block sound; the sound waves in the air just vibrate through everything.

    Birds are protected species so, unlike noisy dogs, the government will not help with the noisy little monsters. Birdsong frequencies are unfortunately in the 1KHz to 8 KHz range, with is what are ears are most sensitive to.

    Earplugs might be useful but sterilize them each day if you reuse them or you will end up with an outer ear infection.

  • YodaBaby on 09/12/2022 - 07:44

    I live in the flight path of many flocks of yellow-crested Cockatoos. They fly past our area daily, sometimes several times a day but usually at dawn. Landing on rooftops, and trees, and circling around with their loud deafening squawking and screeching. It's very noisy and unpleasant. Nothing you can do about it except maybe get some easy-to-apply earplugs to block or dampen the noise for that period of time when they are nearby. Good luck!

    • TEER3X on 09/12/2022 - 20:09

      Their screech is so loud it's comical

      I bet that's what pterodactyls sounded like back in the day

      • GordonD on 09/12/2022 - 21:36

        Their screech is so loud it's comical

        One incident in the reserve next to my place had me really laughing. Cockatoos are big birds. They get flying speed up by jumping out of trees, diving to gain speed, then starting to flap their wings, screeching as loud as they can as they go. One did that over the kids play equipment in the reserve. The kids must have thought it was swooping down to attack them. There were kids jumping down the ground and running for their lives in all directions screaming for their parents.

  • Emphasise on 09/12/2022 - 07:59
    -1

    Birds are government spy drones. This explains why the chirps only last 10-15 minutes as they need to fly back and recharge. I would suggest getting an EMP and detonating it when it's close to see what information it's been collecting on you

  • CharityCase on 09/12/2022 - 08:07
    +1

    The only resolution is to retaliate

    Find out the bird's sleep pattern and wake him up when he's in deep sleep!

  • Buttocks on 09/12/2022 - 08:27
    +2

    Had the same issue…turned off phone. Damn Elon Musk.

  • DavidH68 on 09/12/2022 - 08:45
    +2

    Only one , you are very lucky , my next door neighbours have 3 large birdbaths they fill with feed every morning and night and have been doing so for a very long time so obviously it attract shitloads of birds which create a hell of a racket every single bloody morning and night , not to mention all the bird shit they drop on my car and washing hanging on the clothes line.

    This to me is just so damn inconsiderate of everyone else around you and is very very selfish of them , I am almost at the point now the birds shit me that much I might just have to move house.

    • kzrocky on 09/12/2022 - 19:31

      PPL think they are doing birds a favour by feeding them. Totally wrong.
      I would talk to your neighbors.
      Bad neighbours

  • lovepub on 09/12/2022 - 08:49
    -1

    Silences air soft.
    It won’t kill them but will hurt them slightly and they will stop coming

    • mapax on 09/12/2022 - 08:51
      +1

      Last time I checked those toys are illegal in every state of Australia.

  • Geoffreys on 09/12/2022 - 09:15

    Have you considered buying and training a hawk? It’s a long term plan

  • payless69 on 09/12/2022 - 09:24

    World's most common bird: The chicken!

    Females lay eggs for humans to eat, males wake them up for a bit of fun!!

    My wish for my next life sorted??

  • idonotknowwhy on 09/12/2022 - 09:30

    Get a white noise app on your phone and play it at a lowish volume throughout the entire night.
    That'll reduce the difference in volume between the bird chirping, and the baseline noise.

    I did a similar thing when living in a shitty apartment where I kept getting woken up by neighbors and it worked perfectly.

  • Payne on 09/12/2022 - 10:07
    +1

    B1 & B2 had this problem. Their solution wasn't the best, but hey, they're only fruit 😂

    https://youtu.be/Zt4ewjFsYLI?t=21

  • DarkOz on 09/12/2022 - 11:22
    +1

    Toughen up OP. You are lucky that it wasn't a Kookaburra or two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqdRQxgtZtI

  • Oxxy on 09/12/2022 - 12:58
    +1

    Orbital bombardment of the suburb? Just didn't want to rule anything out here.

  • susannetsv on 09/12/2022 - 13:27

    Why dont you putting some suitable food out and maybe it will eat rather than chirp. Plastic snake might also help but I think you would need to move the snakes position every day. Set your phone to start playing some forest/bird noises at 5 am and then maybe you will become accustomed to the bird sounds and the real bird will just blend in with the sounds from the phone. Otherwise simply enjoy the sound, I am sure there are many people in the world who would envy you waking up to chirping bird sounds :-)

  • MrMoo on 09/12/2022 - 16:30
    +1

    Ear plugs. We have a similar issue during what I call "Bird O clock".

    Coincidentally it's also 5am.

  • Azzy on 09/12/2022 - 17:37

    Move to a bleak soulless neighbourhood where all wild life has died, in this quiet dystopian place you may find solitude in knowing no other beings exists.
    Look into the abyss and question wether the beauty of a birds song was worth casting aside for the solitude you now seek. No one can hear you in a space where no other being exists.

    • GordonD on 09/12/2022 - 21:39

      There was a research paper published in The Conversation that found that people are happier when there is bird song in their local area in the evenings. It didn't look at whether the same applied to birdsong in the morning.

  • saltysalt on 09/12/2022 - 18:23

    Try one of those fake birds or something reflective. I've seen people hang old CD's off string in their fruit trees to deter birds.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2022 - 18:34

    Oh and builder foam earplugs (Bunnings). Get the type shaped like cones and rounded at the ear end. Like this: https://www.bunnings.com.au/craftright-ear-plugs-pack-of-5-p… - they're more comfortable than the ones that are just cut from a long piece making them the same shape all the way along. Wash, rinse, dry, store out of the open air (to avoid insects touching them), reuse. Since you said "we" get two colours or mark the ends of half with a texta. Because even though you wash them, swapping could cause ear infections. (Just cleaning ear #2 with a cotton bud that was in ear #1 gives me infections.)

  • kzrocky on 09/12/2022 - 18:46

    I have a similar scenario, except a Bronze Wing Pidgeon appear on my roof about 5am and starts its sound which is really really annoying it does my head in. When it first started I thought it was a car alarm. I bought a green laser light and shine it at it, it hates it and flys off. It its too bright for the laser then I throw stones at it. After some time it gets used to it and dissapears for a period of time, but then either it or another one appears again and I start the cycle again. Im thinking of hooking up the hose to a sensor on the roof.

    • Clear on 09/12/2022 - 18:47

      Sucks to be you

    • GordonD on 09/12/2022 - 21:46

      We had a large flock of little corellas invade our suburb. They were feeding at a building site, and getting water at the local pond. But there weren't enough trees there for them to fit in the few trees where the water was, so they invaded our suburb and its trees to roost for the night.

      My neighbors couldn't understand how I was chasing them away. I waited until it was close to dark and they'd settled in for the night, then I walked along under the trees shining a torch into them. The moving shadows in the tree made them think there was predator coming to get them, and they took off. Trouble was I had to wait until it was dark enough for a torch to cast shadows. But when you move them on every night it only takes a couple of days for them to go somewhere else next time.

  • Punda on 09/12/2022 - 20:06

    That’s a passed loved one visiting you.

  • Punda on 09/12/2022 - 20:07

    That’s a passed loved one visiting you.

  • hopper on 09/12/2022 - 21:55

    Same situation, I setup a routine on my google mini speaker to play rain sounds, now the birds sounds are no longer audible to my ear.

    You can try with your phone for free

  • nGu on 09/12/2022 - 22:32

    I have a crazy idea which has been proven to work. In 1958 Mao Zedong enacted the "Four Pests Campaign" where…

  • cooeecanvas on 10/12/2022 - 08:54

    Willy wagtail? Is this your bird? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8R_BzJqlv4 We have them at our place and it drives us insane, all attempts to move them on have been futile.

  • lachhelix on 10/12/2022 - 11:59

    Exactly the same!! Annoys tf out of me 😡

  • darkmoss on 10/12/2022 - 12:36

    get vaccinated

  • doperst on 10/12/2022 - 15:23

    Do you or you neighbors have a cat? I heard a similar story, turned out the bird was chirping because the owner's cat was staring at it through the window. They removed the cat - the bird shut up.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/12/2022 - 20:02

    I don't sleep well during the initial hours of the night due to a health condition so most of my deep sleep is during 3am to 6am.

    Fix this first.

  • Addamant1 on 10/12/2022 - 20:07

    Study hard and get exercise, try and get on the Mars or one of the moon missions

  • voiletmay on 10/12/2022 - 22:32

    Can you sleep in another room on the other side of the house?

    I have four different places where I sleep at night as I am always escaping noise (dog and husband both snore terribly). I have a whole heap of videos I watch on youtube during the night to drown out noise too (mostly is wave sounds with black screen, sometimes it is fish documentaries (Marine Creatues of the Lembeh Strait is my my favourite). Find what gets you to sleep. Brown nosie/white noise both are worth trying.

    Things that go in your ears are normally too uncomfortable to wear for an entire night. Loop earplugs are the most comfortable I have found.

    Goodluck with the bird.

  • Davo1111 on 11/12/2022 - 13:09

    Earplugs, insulation, or make it less invited for the birds. Trim tree, things that rotate in the wind and scare the birds etc

  • franco cozzo on 15/12/2022 - 10:51

    they start around 3am at ours….wtf birds?

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