Hawk attack

[BillieJR]

Oh no - I feel so badly for you Fireflyfisherman! I can only imagine how upset you are about this. I don't have any advice but wanted you to know how badly I feel for you. :(

Is it illegal to kill hawks?

[Larry A Kronemeyer]

I'm so sorry for you. We have all witnessed similar events at our sites. The birds get so caught up in their own business that they forget to be vigilant.

We put up an owl cage on our trendsetter. The large porches make it easy for an owl to grab hold and shake martins out if the house.
Since the Martin's love to sit on the big porches, they are easy targets for a hawk pick-off. The cage helps prevent that.

Decoys on the housing would help right now. The hawk will try it again and it might help if he has decoy to zero in on while the other flee.

[KathyF]

Setup a couple of bird feeders on either side of your gourd rack, put up some decoys and as Larry mentioned cages protect them when they're sitting on porches.
Check out my latest blog post for how I setup these things too.

[Matt F.]

I'm watching you guys. This is Mike, the retired wildlife biologist. One of the responders mentioned "you put up a bird feeder, you put up a feeding station for hawks". The same goes for martin colonies. When a martin person erects and maintains a successful colony for martins, one must expect predation. As one Sharp-shinned hawk said to the other, "Did you see that colony over at 42nd St. and Maple? Must be 25 to 30 martins congregating over there around 7:30 each evening. Let's eat!
Pull the heads from house sparrows (exotic finches) and starlings but don't mess with native wildlife. This is a PMCA advocated position. Be mindful.

Mjfog - as a retired wildlife biologist, I would expect you to have posts that are a bit more objective and analytical.
There is too much enamorment (and subsequent over protection) with anything that falls under the "raptor" category, and not enough with federally protected songbirds (especially species that are declining in numbers in many areas) like Martins.
A single Purple Martin nest (complete with parents and babies) is just as important as a single Cooper's Hawk nest, or Great Horned Owl nest.
Unfortunately, in addition to this, the USFWS and state DNRs (who get much of their data from the USFWS) seem to be about 50 years behind, in reference to the population status of the eastern Martins.
We are more and more frequently seeing areas in Canada, and the northern U.S., that are now pretty much void of Martins, even though they fall into the nice, plentiful color blob on the USFWS Martin range maps.
If you ask me, in those areas where the numbers are low, if someone has an active colony, and reports numerous hawk attacks (which for all of us are most likely going to be Cooper's or Sharpies) there should be a USFWS or state DNR trap and relocate program in place, to protect the Martin colony.
Some may argue that is not feasible, especially if the hawks are nesting.
Is that any worse than those same hawks killing one or both of the parent Martins of any particular nest?
That goes back to my original point though, that the Martin nests are important as well.
If Martins are disappearing in many areas, and the hawks are not, at what point does the Martin's consideration outweigh that of the hawk's?
As mentioned earlier, the widespread over-enamorment with raptors, will only make it more and more difficult to ever get any sort of federal or state raptor control program in place.
No one here is suggesting anything illegal.

[KathyF]

Excellent post, Trio House fanatic.

[eyeamtheman]

I think ole Mr. "I'm watching you guys" is an attempt to scare some of you folks...
(rolls eyes)

[loco for purple]

I've been going through the same thing for a month . Like clock work the hawk would come in just before dark. The martins would'nt even see the hawk most times . My loud clapping would disrupt the hawk attacks . I did loose one bird when my pet chicken distracted me one evening . I have since used a 12 foot step ladder placed in the middle of the colony with me at the top . I haven't had an attack since , and it's been five days. I'm sure the hawk or Hawks see me there , and it keeps them from attacking .

[KathyF]

I've been going through the same thing for a month . Like clock work the hawk would come in just before dark. The martins would'nt even see the hawk most times . My loud clapping would disrupt the hawk attacks . I did loose one bird when my pet chicken distracted me one evening . I have since used a 12 foot step ladder placed in the middle of the colony with me at the top . I haven't had an attack since , and it's been five days. I'm sure the hawk or Hawks see me there , and it keeps them from attacking .

Loco - LOL - what a GREAT idea! I tell everyone to buy one of those LARGE boat horns - not the small ones - the $10 one and blast that in his face when he's in attack mode. Scares the bejesus out of him/her (and you if you've never tested it before). So, test it and be prepared before you climb the ladder with it.

[Fireflyfisherman]

Witnessed my decoys work. The new storm front brought more martins to town. My neighbor’s site is almost full ( he has a superior flyway) and my birds are very busy nest building and trying to attract more friends. Today (cloudy, cold and windy) I was drinking coffee and watching the martins when they scattered and the bad hawk hit my decoy and stood on it, clawing at it. The Martins quickly mobbed it and it flew off before I could get outside and scare it off. This is a tough and exciting season so far. Thank you for all your tips and tactics.

[C.C.Martins]

KathyF and FireFlyfisherman, thats great news and good tactics! The ladder idea is a good one, elevated and visible and it must have been something to watch that hawk rip at the decoy; thank God it missed. Thats rough though to have those attacks, sorry.

Any martin death is a tragedy, be it by hawk, natural causes or by another martin. Keep the martins safe from those hawks at all costs I say. Its a heck of a lot more rewarding to watch out for and prevent the hawks from attacking Martins and then broadcasting the techniques for us to learn from so we can replicate it. Some personal opinions are contrary to that view, live and let live, hawks gotta eat too and that rot. The Martin species as whole is page one, book one of the wild birds I care about.

Our hawks have passed by I think, I still wear the bright orange safety vest when going out among them in the afternoon and have the decoys up. All it takes is once to let the guard down to prove me wrong.
Great job! Hope that hawk passes.
Respectfully,
Tom

[randy741985]

Look in youtube hawk trap catch it and turn it loose 30 miles away.

[obirol]

I have an active colony on my dock since 2007; last year 32 nests fledged.
Every year I had Cooper Hawk harass the birds even take one occasionally.
This year, two weeks before nesting begins, when the birds are just about
to enter their gourds at dusk the Cooper attacked a couple of times last
night and the night before.
If this continues will the birds abandon the colony?
All I have done so far is to chase the hawk, any suggestions will be
appreciated.