CHEEP help needed please! (Problem Resolved at the Moment)

MamaBruff · Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:45 am

OK, I have ONE pair of nesting PMs, and the male is doing an excellent job of protecting the nest.... And yet I worry, because I have one especially pesky cheeping persistent HOSP that I can't seem to get rid of!! GRRR! Most of you know I tolerate NO HOSP to the point of obsession! (Yes I have it bad!)

He JUMPS UP AND DOWN, CHEEPING and BOUNCING my THGs! He hasn't claimed ONE yet, he wants them ALL! He flies away when I step outside, and so shooting is impossible unless he is on the ground gathering more CRAP to stuff into my gourds... I may have to slip a screen out of a window and try the old feathers on the ground trick... but it's a total time eater. I have alternate housing open, but he's not interested, of course.... I have my PMCA repeating bait trap set up, but have never caught anything in it. I did load it with white feathers, bread crumbs, and millet, but he's not interested in it either. I have a Blaine's repeater too, set up with same stuff.. I guess my only hope is that a female will come and nest and then I can trap him.... I just don't want to disturb the incubating mama PM with the house going up and down and all. Oh yeah, it's raining, too!

Any ideas?

Up until yesterday, I had a lonely SYM hosting subbie house parties here and the PMs chased all the HOSP away (to my trap houses)... but now he has run off with the "kids"... CRAP.

Maybe I should take some Excedrin and go into town for a while; I'm so upset I feel shaky!!! GRRR!

........

This is my loaded, covered, PMCA repeater bait trap on the ground and same for the Blaine's on the table...

~Ray~Gingerich · Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:51 pm

Try a nest box trap with a Spar o door. This one mounted on the side of a utility pole 12yards distance from my gourd racks with entry hole facing north east towards my colony catches almost every sparrow coming in to snoop around.

Jodiebf · Mon Jun 17, 2013 2:01 pm

Ray-Do you have bluebirds in your area, or, any problem with bluebirds getting trapped in your Spare-O-Door trap?
Jodie

DebA · Mon Jun 17, 2013 2:50 pm

Can you pull up close and shoot from a vehicle? I parked my pickup nearby the houses and it seemed the HOSP got used to it. I would climb in put on some music and wait. Actually didn't take too long. If it stages onto something like the ground, fence, electic line then blast it. That has worked for me. Like yours mine would scatter as soon as they heard the screen door. Traps look good except empty.

Deb

MamaBruff · Mon Jun 17, 2013 3:38 pm

No fence, No overhead utility lines. PM House is "planted" in the middle of the septic field, but might be able to park my PT cruiser "in range" when the weather dries up.... think think think... Maybe I need a park bench for the little pooper to land on... I have a PMCA NB trap, a Gilbertson BB house w trap, and 2 regular BB houses, all near the PM house. The repeater traps are right by the Gilbertson. (Really trashy looking, IMHO) So there are plenty of options... but he chooses NONE of them! Plus, when he flushes, he flies to the cover of one of the oaks in back, or my neighbor's pines. What I think I need is a house that looks like a PM house, only with BB excluder holes (Got my 1-5/16" hole saw ordered)... but if the dang hosp choose the PM house, I'm back to square one again.... He's already attracted another male hosp, too! GRRR. But one bright spot, my husband brought home some .22 birdshot shells...

KathyF · Mon Jun 17, 2013 4:36 pm

Mary - deep breaths.

Lots of small things can change the winds in your favor.

1st - do you have an empty gourd that you could move off your gourd rack and hang it on a shepherd's hook near the colony? Might serve to get him away from the martins at least. Add some pretty feathers to the entrance way of the gourd.

2nd - add a perching rod next to your gourds - either on the one you move or the ones on your rack - this gives him something to land on so you don't have to shoot at your house. -- You can use a stick from the woods - and zip tie it to something - doesn't have to be pretty.

3rd - Ray's option above is perfect. Get yourself a T-Post and mount a makeshift box with a trap inside on it.

Will keep thinking of more options...

KathyF · Mon Jun 17, 2013 4:40 pm

It's hard to get them into the repeating traps this time of year, unless you have other live HOSP in the traps...or they happen to get hungry and go after the food, but it's very hard this time of year.

Check out this link too - good information:

http://sialis.org/hosp.htm#wary

MamaBruff · Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:01 pm

Thank you, Yeah, you're right. Take a deep breath. And a bubble bath. I will put away the baited repeaters. In the meantime, should I try moving the little white Gilbertson w/insert trap closer to the PM house? Maybe I should take the trap out of it for a day... I really don't want to start messing with the PM house until the sun comes out tomorrow.... I have a pile of millet and feathers on the ground and he is ignoring it too. Devil Sparrow.

KathyF · Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:02 pm

MamaBruff wrote:Thank you, Yeah, you're right. Take a deep breath. And a bubble bath. I will put away the baited repeaters. In the meantime, should I try moving the little white Gilbertson w/insert trap closer to the PM house? Maybe I should take the trap out of it for a day... I really don't want to start messing with the PM house until the sun comes out tomorrow.... I have a pile of millet and feathers on the ground and he is ignoring it too. Devil Sparrow.

No - don't put them away, just lower your expectations for them right now.

Yes, move the Gilbertson with the trap closer. Do you have a trap for your gourds?

And given your experience with the deaths of your chickadees, I understand your panic. But slow & steady will win the race sooner.

Remember - be strategic, rather than fast.

John Miller · Mon Jun 17, 2013 6:30 pm

Really like Ray's idea of using the Trio door trap on a box. This is the most successful trap I use. it must the plain front that lures them in. Was at my elderly parent's house in Kentucky over the weekend...spent a lot of time as usual trapping sparrows. Caught four house sparrows in short order with this trap in a Trio and so got those somewhat under control.

John M

MamaBruff · Mon Jun 17, 2013 7:05 pm

Panic is right!! I have ONE pair, ONE nest, ONE shot. I'm not sure they would have time to renest and raise babies if something happens.

Yes, I have the tunnel trap for the gourds, and it has worked well in the past. If I was going to hang a gourd on a hook, it should probably be a vertical one, tho I could try to rig one that's existing. Don't want to mess with the house any longer than I have to. I would also predict at this point the HOSP wouldn't go to the gourd anyway. He likes being up high, Cheeping and bouncing. On all the gourds.

I will move the little white Gilbertson closer to the PM house for a try for now. It has been a HOSP magnet (48 HOSP since 1 Mar) up until now, that is... I suppose I caught all the dumb ones, and this fellow is one of the clever ones. I will likely not be able to do anything with him until he has a mate and a nest. That's where the patience comes in... right?? *SIGH*

Also will look into ordering a trio door and spare o door trap and making a cute little sparrow house. Can anybody tell me if the spare o door excludes BBs?

I feel better now. You guys have helped me think rationally, the rain has stopped, the sun came out, and my SYM returned with friends again.

Here is a link to Picasa web album with pix of my site.

https://picasaweb.google.com/TheBruffet ... directlink

CraigMo. · Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:48 pm

Very nice place Mary. Can't give you any help on that sparrow

MamaBruff · Mon Jun 17, 2013 10:32 pm

I'm really quite sane in all other aspects of my life; I don't know WHY I obsess so much over my birds. Maybe it's the "trying to make a difference" factor... Therefore I must try to be patient. Thank you for your concern and helpful suggestions.
M

DakotaLady · Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:33 pm

Mary,

Hang in there you will get him. I would put a trap in one of the gourds he is going into. That is how I eliminated a lot of my sparrows. Just bring the house down once the martins go off to eat.

I understand your obsession COMPLETELY. I do the same thing when I see a starling or sparrow. I've finally gotten better at shooting my little daisy BB gun and leave my window with my screen taken off so that I can shoot right out my house window.

It really is time consuming getting rid of all these pesky birds. I have every sort of trap to put in gourds and nest boxes one could purchase. ha ha. Sounds like you do as well.

Good luck to you. I like Deb's idea about the vehicle also. That might be your best chance to off him before he attracts a female.

~Ray~Gingerich · Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:02 am

Yes Jodie, we do have bluebirds here, occasionally I get a bluebird or tree swallow. The important thing is to check traps frequently, several times a day if possible

MamaBruff · Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:26 am

Thank you everyone! I will be calm, steady, and patient as a cat; poised to act quickly when the time is right. Will let you know how this turns out.

MamaBruff · Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:01 pm

Good News! I took the screen out of a window, and creepy cheepy never even flinched. Sat out on the porch of a gourd (opposite corner of the PM nest which is in the house) carrying on like crazy. SO I put a dining chair up by the window to rest my pellet gun on... steady... ZINGO! I must have hit him non lethal, as he took off flying pretty low, and has not returned.

CraigMo. · Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:50 pm

Good shot Mary

KathyF · Tue Jun 18, 2013 3:02 pm

Good job, Mary - be stealthy - think like a hunter.

Hey, I thought of you last night when I went to check my traps and I had 2 young HOSP fledges. So, now IS a good time to have your repeating traps out, baited with chicken scratch (millet / corn mix). Make sure you just put a little bit of it (don't want them to get full) on the perch in front of your trap and lots in the holding tray.

Now is the time to catch all the young, dumb, hungry kids that are fledging that will come back to torture your colony next year.

Stretch · Tue Jun 18, 2013 3:11 pm

i haven't read all the posts, so forgive me if I am repeating something.

I HATE the cheep cheep cheep. but I learned something this year.

DO NOT go running out and clapping and scaring them away. They are very elusive and once you start doing that, they learn and learn fast.

So...as hard as it was for me this year, I never went out clapping. I'd casually walk outside and just allow them to cheep cheep cheep, even as much as it pained me. The good thing is, they get to know you, and not be scared of you.

I had a fellah trained like this. He flew up to a martin unit, went in, I calmly reached for gun and approached. He came out of the unit and was a little surprised to see me standing there. He flew up to the perches and was frozen just looking at me as he had nothing to fear right? I pulled the gun up, put him in my sights and let'er rip. He fell straight down.

Point is, let them get to know you, not be scared of you like at McDonalds...then, wait for the right opportunity for the score. Its hard to do, but worth it!!!