Cowbirds... Mississippians need to read this

[Guest]

I have caught two or three cowbirds in my repeating sparrow trap, and have let them go. This past weekend I was talking to my dad and told him about catching the cowbirds and he asked if I killed them because they will go into a nest and lay their eggs and let the other species raise their young. I read up on it and he was right. But they are a native bird and cannot be killed legally, right? So what's a "wannabe" martin landlord to do?

[KathyF]

I have caught two or three cowbirds in my repeating sparrow trap, and have let them go. This past weekend I was talking to my dad and told him about catching the cowbirds and he asked if I killed them because they will go into a nest and lay their eggs and let the other species raise their young. I read up on it and he was right. But they are a native bird and cannot be killed legally, right? So what's a "wannabe" martin landlord to do?

I let the cowbirds go when I catch them.

If you conduct regular nest checks (at least 1x per week), you'll be able to identify a cowbird egg before it has time to hatch. Just pluck it out and throw it away.

[Guest]

Kathy, I read up on them a little more, and over 50% of the time when their egg is removed they return and destroy the host's eggs. Assuming I get martins this year, I'm not going to risk it. I found a statute in the Mississippi law book stating which birds it is legal to kill. For all you Mississippians, the following is good to know:



§ 49-1-39. Power to capture or destroy animals injurious to property.


The commission may issue permits to kill any species of animals or native, nonmigratory birds which may become injurious to agricultural or other interests in any particular community. All migratory birds, including hawks, owls, and eagles and their nests and eggs are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and federal regulations promulgated under this act. All species of blackbirds, cowbirds, starlings, crows, grackles, and English sparrows may be killed without a permit when such birds are committing or about to commit depredations on shade or ornamental trees or agricultural crops.

I take "other interests" as a martin colony.

[DAKdude]

Before anyone goes on a killing spree, cowbirds are not known to be nest parasites of Martins. It may happen but if it does, it is very rare. So they are not a real threat to any martin colony.
I am not a lawyer, but since you don't actually own Purple Martins and they are not doing damage to your personal property i.e. the physical structure of your martin colony, would "other interests" stand up in court? You can get permits to remove injurious wildlife but you need a federal permit. The Migratory Bird Act is an international federal treaty and it would supersede state law in this case.
To make sure you are within the law, you might want to check with USFW and your state fish and game department before you take any action just to be safe.

[Mike1624]

If you throw out the cowbirds egg, there is a better than 50% chance that she will return and destroy the other eggs. I had this happen in a bluebird box I was monitoring. What we're doing now is addling the egg and returning it to the box or nest. So far, that has worked perfectly.

[Guest]

Dakdude,
I know you're being cautious but there's not anybody at USFW or your state agency that would blink an eye if you killed 100 cowbirds, starlings or EH sparrows a day.

Mike is right. Just give the egg a vicious shake and return it to the nest.

[Guest]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... s%3Disch:1 Here is some info on Cowbirds that might interest some posters.

[Mike in NC]

I've read that an hour or two in the freezer is also an effective method for dealing with an unwanted egg prior to returning it to the nest. I'm no expert, but I'd prefer that to the shaking.

Some folks do this for House Sparrows. Remove one egg at a time, freeze it, return it to the nest, rinse, repeat.

[RC Moser]

Cowbirds IMO are really no better than starling or ES, their real damage is to Finches, warblers, wrens, and probably 100 other song birds. Don't bother me a bit to get rid of them in my area. If I trap one well lets say it won't be a song bird problem anymore. I suspose they do some good around cattle, but at what expense of all the other song birds that probably do more?????

[Guest]

Coat the egg with vegetable oil, it will not hatch. This has been used for years with problem geese. Mike1624 is right about Cowbirds. Avian ecologist Jeff Hoover did a study on Cowbirds. Behavior was called, tongue in cheek, mafia like behavior. If the Cowbird egg is ejected from the nest,bad things can happen to the host birds an their young. Leave it alone (the Cowbird egg) and give the Cowbird parents access to the nest and everything is o.k. So, you either leave the egg alone, shake it or paint it with vegetable oil and let the parent Cowbirds come and go. Or, dispose of the egg, but you better make damn sure you take care of mom and dad or bad things will happen. Capisce ?

[Guest]

I don't know about anyone else here, but we have been inundated with cowbirds this year.

[Guest]

I don't know about anyone else here, but we have been inundated with cowbirds this year.

Same here. Wish they were Martins.

[Guest]

So, you either leave the egg alone, shake it or paint it with vegetable oil and let the parent Cowbirds come and go. Or, dispose of the egg, but you better make damn sure you take care of mom and dad or bad things will happen. Capisce ?

Thanks for the chuckle.

[Guest]

I don't know about anyone else here, but we have been inundated with cowbirds this year.

Same here. Wish they were Martins.

Hear ya man. Me too.

[tor]

So the question is.......... can a cowbird get through a bluebird box hole measuring 1 1/2"?

[Caroline94535-ND]

Those cowbird eggs are slippery. I've only ever found one, but it fell out of my hand and broke.

I don't know what I'd do if I found a cowbird in my trap. It hasn't happened, yet.

[Louise Chambers]

Tor, they can get into a 1-1/2 inch entrance hole, but cowbirds typically use open nests to host their eggs. They rarely use nestboxes, so don't worry about them choosing your bluebird, martin, or tree swallow nests. I have seen them in phoebe nests a lot, probably because it's pretty easy to check phoebe nests on porches, etc.

I believe there are 1-2 records of cowbirds using bluebird nests, and none that I can recall of them using martin nests as hosts.

Louise