sneaky male HOSP
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Craig Dyer
- Posts: 500
- Joined: Fri May 13, 2005 2:24 pm
- Location: Nevada, TX
- Martin Colony History: Area is rural. Offer 28 compartments...metal housing (Lonestar Goliad) & Supergourds all w/crescent entrance holes. Purple martins are abundant here and eager for quality, well maintained, safe housing. Expect near 100% occupancy this season.
Never underestimate the house sparrow. The martins were out feeding yesterday afternoon. The housing was unguarded. I watched helplessly as a male HOSP pecked & removed five martin eggs from the same compartment. It pecked a hole in the eggs & then removed them one by one dropping them nearby. I couldn't get a decent shot at him without endangering the nestlings and eggs still in the housing. I finally got him this morning.
Craig Dyer
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marcus
- Posts: 314
- Joined: Tue May 10, 2016 10:21 pm
- Location: Fairland OK
- Martin Colony History: Mom n Dad had a plastic 12 unit martin house with some martins as long as I can remember. In 2013 they had 1 pair. I don't think they fledged any. I then started learning how to take care of martins and in 2014 we took that house down and put up a Troyer 18 gourd rack. We had 7 pair with 28 fledged.That summer I built a T-14 (I was only 12). I was also given 4 natural gourds that I hung beneath the T-14. In 2015, we had 23 pair although only 22 pair fledged young. They fledged 88 young. In 2016, we had 36 pair, 210 eggs, 163 hatched, 149 fledge!! One pair fledged 2 broods. In 2017, I had 36 pair with 35 fledging young. They laid 204 eggs, hatched 155, and fledged 152.
Same thing happened here yesterday. A male hosp removed one egg before I got home from work. 
I shot him later in the evening.
I shot him later in the evening.-
Martinfarmer
- Posts: 153
- Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 6:33 pm
- Location: Guthrie KY 42234
- Martin Colony History: 2015 put up a S-k house, visitors but no takers
2016 homemade Martin condo (40 nesting boxes) several visitors no takers
2017 changed crescent openings to Troyer Conley 2 openings and installed 4 super gourds with Conley2 adapters and 12 vertical Troyers.
Several nests and eggs. Hopefully will exceed one hundred eggs this year.
6-21-17 nest inspection 68 chicks and 26 eggs
6-30-17 inspection 90 chicks and a new nest with 4 eggs.
8-30-17 successfully fledged over 85 martins.
I observed a starling go to a sparrow nest that was located in a power weatherhead. The sparrows just watched helplessly as the starling ripped out their nest for building materials.
I have a good pellet gun for the both of them. Only thing is, I need to come up with some sand bags to help my kill ratio.
I have a good pellet gun for the both of them. Only thing is, I need to come up with some sand bags to help my kill ratio.
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4th Gen Martin Fan
- Posts: 1498
- Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:19 pm
- Location: TN/Collierville
- Martin Colony History: I have been exposed to purple martin sounds in utero when my mother went out to get my father away from his martin colony.
I played around the martin colony every summer and watched as my father maintained his colony. In the late 50's until the 70's he did not notice European Starlings in south Texas.
When old enough, I helped maintain his colony. My primary task was eliminating English House Sparrows with a 1956 Benjamin 317 .177 air rifle.
When I settled into my own home, I started my first colony with an original Trio Castle and Trio Grandpa. When I moved again, I did not put up any martin houses. Frustration with European Starlings in the Southeast US was overwhelming.
Found PMCA Forum and learned about modern enlarged compartments and SREHs.
Inherited my father's last martin house, a Trio Grandma, modified it to modern specifications and have had good results since then.
Sounds like we have European starling and English house sparrow scout snipers among the Forum members. Lower case letters are meant to distinguish from and show no disrespect of USMC Scout Snipers.
Mark.
Firm believer in HOSP/EUST Control, Enlarged Compartments, SREHs, Pole Predator Guards, Owl/Hawk Guards, Mite/Parasite Control, Housing Insulation, and Vents for Compartment Cooling.
PMCA Member.
Firm believer in HOSP/EUST Control, Enlarged Compartments, SREHs, Pole Predator Guards, Owl/Hawk Guards, Mite/Parasite Control, Housing Insulation, and Vents for Compartment Cooling.
PMCA Member.
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Kuemic
- Posts: 176
- Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2016 7:17 pm
- Location: Topeka, KS
- Martin Colony History: 2015 1 pair, 2 eggs destroyed by HOSP
2016 1 pair, 2 fledged, HOSP 46
2017 1 pair, 5 fledged, HOSP 14
2018 daily visitors, HOSP 12
2019 1 pair, 2 fledged, HOSP 14
2020 1pair, 5 fledged, HOSP 17
2021 2 pair, 7 fledged, HOSP 21
2022 3 pair, 12 fledged, HOSP 18
2023 8 pair, 35 fledged, HOSP 16
2024 13 pair, 55 fledged, HOSP 11
Sneaky is right! We usually eat breakfast next to our sliding glass door with a view of the PM housing. Yesterday morning, I glanced up and noticed the Spare-O-door tripped on one side of the Trio House. Never heard a sparrow or saw one lurking. I can usually hear them before I see them.
We brought the house down in the afternoon (didn't want to disturb any egg laying) and both Spare-O-doors were tripped. We have the doors placed back to back so each one opens to a 6x6 cavity. We thought maybe one side had been inadvertently tripped due to wind, etc.
But no, we had a male sparrow on one side and a female on the other
We checked the martin eggs, all 4 looked great, thank goodness. These are the only eggs we have right now, and most likely, the only this season. Eleven sparrows down this season, wish we could hire a sparrow sniper. If we could shoot them in the city limits, I would learn to do so!
--Michelle
We brought the house down in the afternoon (didn't want to disturb any egg laying) and both Spare-O-doors were tripped. We have the doors placed back to back so each one opens to a 6x6 cavity. We thought maybe one side had been inadvertently tripped due to wind, etc.
But no, we had a male sparrow on one side and a female on the other
We checked the martin eggs, all 4 looked great, thank goodness. These are the only eggs we have right now, and most likely, the only this season. Eleven sparrows down this season, wish we could hire a sparrow sniper. If we could shoot them in the city limits, I would learn to do so!--Michelle
Michelle in Topeka
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stan davison
- Posts: 715
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:48 pm
- Location: Tulsa Oklahoma
Craig, the exact same thing happened to me yesterday. I had not seen a house sparrow for days. I came home from running errands and I saw a male hosp. carrying out a Martin egg. It was a Subbie pair and he destroyed their eggs. I trapped him within hours in the spare o door. Another aggressive male showed up today and he is now trapped I will remove him soon. I think they are showing up because our temps have dropped and they have fledged their first of many broods. That Subbie pair is starting over and the male has been bringing in leaves.