All I can say now is OMG!!! The season is already almost over for us down south.
I found dozens of carcasses below the trees all obviously eaten to some extent. Wing parts, heads, no heads. What is up with those coons?!?!? You would think they would finish eating one before killing another! There is a dumpster not 30 feet away, why won't the coon eat the garbage! I watched it climb one of the trees the martins were roosting in. VERY upsetting. Can anything be done? I am tempted to call animal control but they might start messing with the martins instead. And I know the whole nature taking its course bit...but I'm a landlord, what can I say...though native, the raccoons aren't to far off the poop list as far as I am concerned.
I found an injured youngster and brought him home. I feel like I am repeating myself sometimes from writing so much...
but it was spectacular.
I've read on the internet that you can try some natural stuff:
cayenne or ammonia soaked rags
I know this is probably a public place, but I wonder if there would be a way for you to smear sardine liquid along a trail and dump sardines at the end of the trail to deter the racoons away from the birds? That may be a full time job though...unless you could live-trap them away from the roost.
"Sometimes", said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
2023 - 82 pair
2022 - 80 pair
2021 - 75 pair
2020 - 78 pair
2019 - 80 pair http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com
I am going to be returning to (hopefully) return the HY I found and of course again on friday. If I can get some stuff fast enough I will try several things. But it is very public, on a busy road and would not be able to make sure a trap doesn't get stolen.
My fear is that the martins will change the roost site and then we won't have the luxury of knowing where our only local roost is.
Susan, great work on rescuing that HY Martin! You do so much for the Martins!
In addition to Kathy's great info, there may also be some repellents you can buy, that are in a powder or granular mix, that you could sprinkle around the bases of the roost trees, probably without anyone even noticing.
The granules seem like they may have a little more longevity, compared to the liquids - not sure though.
Try a google search for raccoon repellent granules.
If you have access to a live trap, you could chain it to the tree and put a lock on it to keep it from being stolen. Sardines are definately the right bait for catching raccoons.
Davie ROAD (not Davie Blvd) just South of 595. On the West side of the road. Just south of the old Golden Triangle (now it is a cemetery)
I will be there next friday at 7pm and hopefully again sometime during the week. I am off to the rehabbers to drop off the HY for a check. He has been eating eggs and dry mealworms this AM but not sure about his wing.
If I don't get a chance to update here I will be on my blog.
thanks for the advice too. I will be getting several things for the coons.
There are at least 5 large trees there and they all branch out very close to the ground so each of those branches would need to be done. They are fairly large diameter so I am not sure if 1 piece per branch would do it.
It would take at least a dozen pieces of metal to attempt.
This is a real shocker! I thought roosting Martins would have a enough sense to fly away if a coon is approaching them on a tree branch!? Susan, are you able to tell if the dead Martins are fledglings, or are there adult birds included in the carnage too?
There were several ASY males in the mix. Remember these birds are roosting at night and they are absolutely covering the trees so the raccoon, from what I could see was waiting in the canopy. All the martins were trying to get a spot in the trees and off the wires so there may be Owl predation as well. As for the coon- it is just a matter of time before someone lands on the empty spot next to him.
I called the local hardware store, a feed store around the corner,lowes and home depot looking for "Shake-Away" a fox urine repellant. No luck there.
The roost is at a gas station though so the idea to tie a dog at the base of a tree wouldn't work.
Hi SUSANH,
The fox urine is going to be a hunting store item, bass pro, Walmart sporting goods, ect.. I have a book that gives safe pest control solutions. It says to use big cat manure (tigers lions panthers) for small mammals. It says you can get it at landscaping and plant nurseries. The box of cayenne pepper strown around and on the tree sounds like a good idea too!
