Hawk attack this am
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Paul Stein
- Posts: 52
- Joined: Fri Feb 06, 2004 7:28 am
- Location: Georgia/LaGrange
Well I guess it was bound to happen. I have 15 gourds that are occupied and only 4 with no martins in them. I happened to be here today drinking coffee and watching them all making lots of noise and checking out the spare gourds, males sparing with each other etc,just a typical morning. I walked to the back and glanced out the window to see a asy male on the ground with a hawk grasping him. I immediately took off outside but the hawk was able to struggle and fly off into the woods with him. All the martins have left and have been gone a couple of hours now. There are 10-12 circling high up but I have not seen any return to the racks. I am really bummed because this is the best year I have had as far as this many martins this early. This was a small, what I call a sparrow hawk and I hope he has not found a feeding place however I can not help but think he will be back. I hope the martins will. Paul
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Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Chin up, Paul! Your Purple Martins will definitely come back. What I have learned is that if the hawk sits in a nearby tree while consuming his prey, the PMs will continue to circle way overhead. They know that if they are above the hawk they are probably safe. If you can spook the hawk to leave the area, your colony will return to the housing.
Sad to say, I've had enough hawk attacks to start learning things from them...
But, I have...
I hope it helps to tell you that the hawk will not be successful all the time. I believe even the most dangerous hawks don't catch that many "adult" PMs. It's the fledglings that make easy targets.
Have you tried Kathy's decoy techniques? These sound promising to give your Purple Martins the best chance against their natural predator. Here's a link to that post and responses.
http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewt ... ight=decoy
Good luck to you, Paul. I think you will have a successful season despite the hawk. There are only a few reports of complete colony loss due to hawks. Make sure you don't have any trees that are beginning to crowd your housing -- places where hawks can hide or even ambush from behind.
Sad to say, I've had enough hawk attacks to start learning things from them...
But, I have...I hope it helps to tell you that the hawk will not be successful all the time. I believe even the most dangerous hawks don't catch that many "adult" PMs. It's the fledglings that make easy targets.
Have you tried Kathy's decoy techniques? These sound promising to give your Purple Martins the best chance against their natural predator. Here's a link to that post and responses.
http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewt ... ight=decoy
Good luck to you, Paul. I think you will have a successful season despite the hawk. There are only a few reports of complete colony loss due to hawks. Make sure you don't have any trees that are beginning to crowd your housing -- places where hawks can hide or even ambush from behind.
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne