Cool martin behavior

[sherylsr]

Hi! After five years of waiting, I've gotten my first pair of purple martins! They spent their first night last night in our house.

That said, I'm asking around to see if anyone else has observed this kind of martin behavior. It was incredible to watch (below from my blog post):


With my binoculars aimed at the house, I watched the pair of martins hunched on the bottom porch. The male appeared to be “hissing” (no sound, just a wide open mouth) at the interior of the compartment. He acted somewhat aggressive. But was he sick, I worried? Or was he trying to tell the female to check out the inside? Were they afraid because it was a dual compartment? Was another male martin inside?

Then they switched sides on the porch, and the female hissed next. There was a scuffle a time or two also, like the pair was either fighting each other or something inside the house. I kept watching. I wasn't going to leave until there was an ENDING! Soon my husband James joined me.

Finally, I could see something moving inside the house. A snake? WHAT WAS IT?! Then all the sudden A MALE SPARROW FLEW OUT! They were intimidating the you-know-what out of that guy so he'd never come back! James and I laughed and applauded at the same time! We high-fived, too! "Way to go!" I called out to the martin pair. I don’t think that sparrow will ever set foot back on that side of the house!

sheryl smith-rodgers
Blanco, TX

[Greg]

Gotta love it! And yes, I've witnessed lots of "hissing." If a starling is ever to come and land on the perches, a martin or two will always hiss toward the starling. It makes me feel great.

I even witnessed two male martins attack a starling all the way to the ground when he tried to land on the perch of a gourd the other day.

I love it when they stand up for their territory.

Congrats on your first pair. I know that feeling!

[Robbo]

I have found after the Martin's have nested and staked claim to the site they defend it and Sparrows seem to give up interest ..... except a few wich must be dealt with.

[Leandortree]

sherylsr,
I hate to put a damper on your party, but I think Mr. Sparrow will come back. With just one pair it's unlikely the Martins can chase them (it) off!
If all your cavities are full of Martins, then the Martins can do a fair job of keeping the pests away!
I think you should invest in a good TRAP, or TWO.

[sherylsr]

Yes, I just observed the sparrow flying out of the hole. A trap, eh.....

[Matt@atx]

I'd say Leandortree is probably right on that. Say if you have 12 cavities and 1 pair for now, they will probably come back even if it is to shift to a different cavity. More Sparrows will soon appear too. I have 23 on 1 rack with probably 21 Martin occupied and Sparrows still slink around when they are out forging and get into gourds trying to build garbage nests.

Gourd or compartment traps to eliminate them will usually be necessary.
Get the male and you clear the cavity, atleast of that sparrow pair. I have had to trap and dispatch two separate sparrows pairs from 2 gourds twice each so thats 8 Sparrows between 2 gourds.
Anytime you have a chance to take a shot at a male Sparrow, I would take it. He bonds with the cavity, he builds and rebuilds the nest until he is dead(not the female), He is the killer of Martin babies and BBs.
In general, one needs to bring scourage and hell fire upon Sparrows at every opportunity.

If you use an air rifle, after a half dozen shots, they will begin to hide from you. I hardly ever see the sparrows at my site but I now they are there. They are smart. In rare cases where I see one at a distance ,if I raise my rifle, they will move out of my line of sight.
This is where gourd traps, compartment traps, and baited repeating ground traps will be your main effective means to use their instincts aganist them and catch them after you leave.

[sherylsr]

Thank you for your words of warning! I shall be talking with my husband.

[Matt@atx]

Thank you for your words of warning! I shall be talking with my husband.

your welcome Sheryl and I am no expert either. Just learning as I go like most but there are experts here. Thanks for sharing your observation because I did not even know Martins hiss so I learned something.

Good luck to you and your birds and I hope you guys pick up lots of sub adults this year.

[sherylsr]

Matt, can you suggest any particular kind of sparrow trap?

[Matt@atx]

Hi Sheryl,



I have only gourds so I use The ATT ( Aluminum Tunnel Trap) which consists of a sliding aluminum shutter panel and trip wire pin that hold it above the entrance of the gourd until the Sparrow go in it, pulls it which shuts the shutter door blocking the entrance behind him.
This is a very simple but genius invention for The Troyer gourds. Once I switched to Troyers completely, this trap have been "revolutionary" for me.

I am not as familiar with compartment traps for your Martin house but there are many people here that do and intimately know these type of traps to recommend. I am sure some will answer this for you soon and Im sorry I can't for lack of knowledge. There are a TON of people here that know tho.

The PMCA sells some of these type compartment traps you need as well.

http://shop.purplemartin.org/Traps-list.aspx

The best ground repeating trap out IMHO is Blaine's Deluxe Repeating Sparrow Trap. I have one and have caught several sparrows in it in the last 2 seasons.

Im sure Louise can tell you alot about these compartment traps. Some people build their own.
One thing is for certain and there is no doubt about it. If one wants Martins and lots of them, they must trap and cull out the Sparrows from their property to do so. They are everywhere Martins range.

If I only pull the Sparrow nest and not get the male, he will return and rebuild. If I tear out a Sparrow nest and break the eggs, or dispatch the sparrow babies without first getting the male, the male will retaliate by breaking Martin eggs or killing Martin babies if present in the system.
A Sparrow also killed my Blue Bird mother and her 4 babies in their box a little over a week ago because my Martins pushed them out of the gourds so they are no nonsense deadly and must be dealt with. They did not even take the box to nest, just killed her brutally and she died slowly.

If you will post the specific type of Martin House you have, I bet many of the veterans can tell you exactly what type of compartment traps you need ..

[sherylsr]

It's a Coates Waters Edge three story, six compartments.

[Matt@atx]

I PM'ed you Sheryl.

[MamaBruff]

Sheryl,

Congratulations on getting some PMs in your handsome house! How thrilling! And it's a good thing you got a nice aggressive pair to start with!

Matt and Leandor are totally right. You'll need to have a "Zero Tolerance" for HOSPS. Be the Mama Bear and defend your "cubs"!

Best of luck to you!

[sherylsr]

Oh I am happy! But feeling a little deflated and worried about what the sparrows might do. I'm not seeing the martins much today. It's real windy so maybe they're hanging somewhere else til the weather changes. Hope so! I may have gotten all excited way too soon!

[Matt@atx]

Don't be deflated or worried Sheryl. At present, you have plenty of open cavities, no Martin eggs or babies yet nor have you destroyed any Sparrow eggs or babies yet without getting the male Sparrow first so you have time. Adult Sparrows cannot beat down Adult Martins ( like Starlings can)
One or the other will move to another open cavity and "tolerate" one another for the time being. If it is one pair of Sparrows only, that is not enough to desuade a pair of Martins from remaining with their choice of your house.

[sherylsr]

We HAD been cleaning out the sparrow nests and had just done so Monday before the martins arrived. We may have three sparrow couples now rebuilding.

[Don Strickland]

I have three S&S Controller type repeating traps and a 22 rifle.
I shoot and trap year round and still have Sparrows and Starlings that come around frequently. Never ending.
Had a Starling that took over one of my houses today. Ripping out the Martins nesting material. The Martins were diving at the Starling but they wouldn't land on the house. I finally got a clear shot and in about 10 minutes my Martins took the house back. Caught another one in one of my repeating traps today. The war is still going but I won todays battle. I'm good at least till tomorrow.
Don

[Matt F.]

Hi Sheryl.
You'll do a great job with the house sparrow control.
I'll bet that was neat to see!
Even though most of the time they need our help, it is fun to watch the Martins "lay down the law" with the sparrows from time to time!

[Matt@atx]

We HAD been cleaning out the sparrow nests and had just done so Monday before the martins arrived. We may have three sparrow couples now rebuilding.

This will not harm your Martins. They cannot hurt your adult birds and they cannot retaliate aganist Martin eggs or babies since there are none yet. You got em where you want em !!
Keep ripping them out until you can get some compartment traps. This makes them have to rebuild them repeatedly and delays their egg laying.

This is what I do every 2 to 3 days since I cannot usually trap until the weekends. This way, I clear that cavity atleast for the next day so incase Martins do show up, they have a chance to claim that cavity. If they do, they "bond". Once they bond to the cavity, they will fight the sparrows for it with you.
You got the 1st pair and many will follow. Please enjoy that special 1st pair.

[sherylsr]

Only ONE martin returned to the house this evening! I think it was the male, but it was hard to tell in the dim light. What does THAT mean?