An Eastern Kingbird.....
No problem with martins but I've had other run-ins with these pest birds. We planted over 50 small oak trees at our camp and these little buggers continue to perch on them and destroy central leaders. You try to train a new leader and they break those. About 1/2 of our trees look like bushes.
2019- 6 Pair, 30 Fledged
2020- 8 Pair, 32 Fledged
2021- 10 Pair, 39 Fledged
HOSP count 130, Starlings 2
2022- 31 Pair, 146 Fledged
HOSP count to date 17, Starlings 1
2023- 28 Pair, 124 Fledged
HOSP count 47, Starlings 1
2024- 40 Pair, 192 Fledged
HOSP count 37
2025-42 Pair, 202 Fledged
HOSP count 46
2020- 8 Pair, 32 Fledged
2021- 10 Pair, 39 Fledged
HOSP count 130, Starlings 2
2022- 31 Pair, 146 Fledged
HOSP count to date 17, Starlings 1
2023- 28 Pair, 124 Fledged
HOSP count 47, Starlings 1
2024- 40 Pair, 192 Fledged
HOSP count 37
2025-42 Pair, 202 Fledged
HOSP count 46
Regardless of how the Martins and Kingbirds interact, you want him around.
When the Coopers Hawk come he will meet him head on and defend his territory. They will save many Martins lives.
When the Coopers Hawk come he will meet him head on and defend his territory. They will save many Martins lives.
Colony started in 2002
Offering 82 Troyer Horizontal Gourds
2018 - 45 PAIR - FLEDGED 203 MARTINS
2019 - 68 PAIR - FLEDGED 268 MARTINS
2020 - 82 PAIR - FLEDGED 392 MARTINS
2021 - 78 PAIR - FLEDGED 349 MARTINS
2022 - 76 PAIR - FLEDGED 373 MARTINS
2023 - 68 PAIR - FLEDGED 355 MARTINS
*2023 Added 2”X4” wire cages to all three Troyer Gemini Gourd Racks to deal with Great Horned Owl predation on Colony.
Offering 82 Troyer Horizontal Gourds
2018 - 45 PAIR - FLEDGED 203 MARTINS
2019 - 68 PAIR - FLEDGED 268 MARTINS
2020 - 82 PAIR - FLEDGED 392 MARTINS
2021 - 78 PAIR - FLEDGED 349 MARTINS
2022 - 76 PAIR - FLEDGED 373 MARTINS
2023 - 68 PAIR - FLEDGED 355 MARTINS
*2023 Added 2”X4” wire cages to all three Troyer Gemini Gourd Racks to deal with Great Horned Owl predation on Colony.
The very day you posted, I watched the kingbird chasing my martins off the rack. I will let them stay and monitor their action. Thanks to everyone for the replies!pvelandr wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 4:02 amKingbirds nest yearly in a mulberry tree 60 feet from my colony. No real problems til the K-bird young are nearing fledge time. Then the attacks begin. Hunting martins near their tree get chased, bullied and harassed. I watched last year as the male took one of my martins to the ground in the adjacent cornfield. I never saw my martin again. These are dangerous birds to your colony. I tolerate their aggressive
behavior each year until their young fledge, or mine do.
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Black Jack
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 4:37 pm
- Location: NC
That is the smartest post i have read. Thank you for seeing the king bird for what he is. A warrior.
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Robert Anderson
- Posts: 32
- Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:22 am
- Location: Mt. Pleasant, IA
- Martin Colony History: 2018: 0 pair
2019: 0 pair
2020: 0 pair: 1 ASY male visitor
2021: 3 pair: 13 eggs
Same problem here in Iowa. Live across from a horse pasture so there is really nothing to be done. They are not cavity nesters according to my research so you shouldn't have to worry about them competing for nest sites. Martins have more moxie than you think. I watch them go toe to toe with house sparrows and the kingbirds, especially those who have developed nest site fidelity.
2018: 0 pair
2019: 0 pair
2020: 0 pair: 1 ASY male visitor
2021: 3 pair: 13 eggs
16 S&K Bo 9 double stacked gourds; 8 PMCA Excluder Gourds; 2 Trio metal houses converted from 12 units down to 6.
2019: 0 pair
2020: 0 pair: 1 ASY male visitor
2021: 3 pair: 13 eggs
16 S&K Bo 9 double stacked gourds; 8 PMCA Excluder Gourds; 2 Trio metal houses converted from 12 units down to 6.
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B-Thrash
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:41 am
- Location: Summerton, SC USA
- Martin Colony History: - First 24 compartment colony built in 1996 in Awendaw, SC.
- Just replaced a 32 compartment colony built in 2013.
- New 2022 colony has 40 compartments, made entirely of 1/2" PVC-Board.
We have at the least a pair of eastern kingbirds, that pretty much hang around and defend our 32 compartment PM colony as well as our nearby wood duck box. They use the roof-top perch occasionally, but I have not seen them harass our PMs at all. We first noticed them a few years back thinking they were barn swallows or flycatchers, and funny that they resemble the PM a bit. I've seen them harass passing crows and other large birds, even a buzzard, so they are welcome so far.
- DSC08571.JPG (446.33 KiB) Viewed 3923 times
Nice pic!
This is probably not "PC" but I consider myself as a predator in nature. I am thankful for the information that helps me understand the roll certain birds play in the big picture. The statement about them protecting/warning our PM's was a free lifetime pass for the Eastern Kingbird!
I see more raptor in my area and believe they will need to be thinned out before irreversible damage is done to our songbirds. Do you know if anyone in the PM community is weighing the impact of increased numbers of raptors? You folks are great ............
This is probably not "PC" but I consider myself as a predator in nature. I am thankful for the information that helps me understand the roll certain birds play in the big picture. The statement about them protecting/warning our PM's was a free lifetime pass for the Eastern Kingbird!
I see more raptor in my area and believe they will need to be thinned out before irreversible damage is done to our songbirds. Do you know if anyone in the PM community is weighing the impact of increased numbers of raptors? You folks are great ............