DECOYS: Yay or Nay ???

[Baglady]

I'm thinking of adding 2 decoys to my house next year. I've never used them before. Any advise would be appreciated!

[Grady]

I can't see a downside to using them. They may attract more martins and they may serve as a diversion to a hawk attack. I have had a couple up since I started this three years ago.

[wyatt]

It depends. They will probably help divert a hawk or owl attack. One year I used them without a problem. The next year I had a martin that dive-bombed it continuously for months on end. He never stopped. I thought if I waited long enough that he would quit, but he never did. I finally took it down to save the sanity of both of us.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

I painted the belly area on one of mine to resemble a female.

[Courtney-NC]

I've had mixed success with them. In the spring, the martins won't land on the housing if I have them up there with the dawnsong playing. It's almost as if they were afraid the decoys would attack them. However, this time of the year, I get a closer look from the HYs when I use decoys as opposed to no decoys.

[Bill Hyde]

I'm a believer in decoys, having witnessed a hawk attack that scattered the living martins but sacrificed a plastic decoy, which was flipped upside down by a very surprised and disappointed accipiter hawk. Even in winter, the decoys continue to perform their valuable task of frustrating birds of prey.

[Guest]

Bill I have had the same,,by moving the decoys to a new location weekly will also confuse the hawks and owls and make them even more effective.

They soon learn that a decoy is just that but move it and its start over time.

dick

[flyin-lowe]

My PM's don't mind the decoys and I witnessed a hawk hit the same decoy twice within 5 minutes last year. The second time I was standing under the decoy when it happened. So I use them. Several times this year I came out to find them knocked over, probably from a hawk.

[Bill Hyde]

We have a recently-fledged mourning dove that likes a PM decoy very much; the dove perches beside the decoy and waits patiently for its parent dove to drop by occasionally to feed it (the dove, not the decoy).

[MB12RING]

I would suggest using them especially if you are using the Dawnsong. The decoys add that much more confidence to already skeptical sy birds that are looking to nest for the first time.

I have 4 and had them painted by a taxadermist because they aren't all that realistic looking when you buy them, but they look real now! I think using the dawnsong and having a couple decoys definately is a good combination for attracting your first pair.

[Virgil McCoy]

They work !!! I like Rays' suggestion of painting the belly on a few to resemble a female. Thanks Ray !

[Guest]

I'm thinking of adding 2 decoys to my house next year. I've never used them before. Any advise would be appreciated!

Decoys are great items to have around for a couple of reasons.

The first reason is to act as an attraction tool for new birds each season. I have four of them installed on my colony site on modified perch rods with perforations every two inches, which allows me to move the decoys around at the beginning of the season. Once my colony is up and running I leave the decoys alone and the birds don't bother with them.

The second reason is that decoys draw attacks from hawks and owls, buying time for the PMs to scatter and mount a defense (usually they just scatter). Every time there has been a hawk-strike on my colony, they hit a decoy first. Every time.

Decoys are a good investment, but that's just my opinion.

[Scott D.- La]

Yay!

[Virgil McCoy]

On the subject of decoys, I've noticed that some areas have a much different shading of Purple Martins and I'm not speaking of the West Coast birds. The purple almost seems to be more of a blue instead of a deep purple. It this my imagination or just bad photography because the ASY male Martins here in the south are so deep purple one must really get a sunny glare to see it against the black. I've purchased decoys from two seperate vendors and can't remember which was which but one decoy has more of a blue color than purple.

[Virgil McCoy]

To finish the previous message, I use the solid black decoys and will modiy the ones with the blue coloring to a female.

[ron20m]

I've witnessed over a dozen Hawk attacks this year so no telling how many total actually happened. Once the rack was still lowered and I was working on it and the hawk hit within 10 feet of me. They are worth it for Hawk attacks alone.
I've had at least one for 10 years and these year had 5 total. Never noticed PM's engaging them at all.
I'm going to take Dick's advice and move them around too.

[Guest]

I am in my 4th year as a landlord. I have used decoys from day one. They have been of great heip to me as my colony has grown from 0 to 28 pairs
This year with 148 babies. 120 fledged so far. This year I have had several
Owl attacks. Recently the owl hit the decoy and tore it completely off my
Rack. This has happen twice. During the day they have saved my martins
Several times from hawks. They will not always work but it's worth me
Keeping them up.
Good luck

[Baglady]

Thanks for all the advise! I just bought 2 really black(or dark purple) ones! I'm going to paint the belly and try them next year! If it looks like failure in any way,,,I can always take them down! When it comes to predators that little bit of a distraction could mean life or death,,,every second counts!

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

I have decoys up everywhere. My subbie pair gets along just fine with all of them and visiting martins will ignore them or perch on them as well as the Bluebirds do.
My biggest problem with them is keeping them in an upright position will have that fixed next season.