Second year bust

[charlesgremillion]

My second year started with six pairs moving in. Then after building nests , they abruptly abandoned the houses . I noticed that over the next few weeks a single male or sometimes a female would perch for a few minutes then leave. I'm not sure what caused them to leave .No snakes and I have been able to keep House Sparrows under control. Not sure what chased them away but hoping next year will be better.

[John Miller]

Charles

Sure does sound like a snake, or some kind of predation. One almost needs to be a detective sometimes to figure these things out. In any event, hope you have a better season next year.

John Miller

[sugarcreek]

Thats tough, could have been hawks or any kind of predator

[charlesgremillion]

Funny you should mention Hawks, This morning sitting on my porch I spotted a young Coopers Hawk perching on a neighbors basketball goal; Later today I watched two Mississippi Kites and three hawks soaring over the neighborhood ,They were too high to identify, but they were hawks . Two blocks from my home 50+ acres of woodland have been cleared . I assume that we are seeing the results of wildlife being displaced . I know that a number of deer and coyotes were living in that area. My city is rapidly losing its charm, I am now considering moving to a rural area.

[flyin-lowe]

When you say abruptly they were gone, what kind of time frame are you talking about? If they were there one day and gone the next it almost has to have been a snake, or raccoon etc. If they started receiving pressure from other predators like a hawk they likely wouldn't all leave at once. An entire colony of nesting martins wouldn't just leave overnight.

You say no snakes, how do you know there were no snakes?

[brent]

My experience with a snake involved Bluebirds. The snake breached a pole guard and netting. It ate one Bluebird chick. The Bluebird chick that survived the attack was only 13 days old. The parents did not hesitate to coax that chick out from the nest. They were that fearful. The chick hopped away and managed to escape. The parents did not return. A snake is a powerful deterrent.
Brent

[Dave Reynolds]

... Charles ... That seemed to be what might have happen at my home a few years ago.. I had a pair of Martins that were here for a week and then started building a nest in one of my T-14's.. They build a super looking nest which took them about 10 or 11 days, and even put some green leaves in the nest... Then out of the clear blue they abandoned the nest and moved over to my gourd rack and started building another nest in a Gourd... In about a week they started laying eggs in the Gourd and fledged young ones. The only difference between the T-14 and the Gourd rack was, I put snake netting on the gourd rack pole, just in case I had a snake in the area.. I have a lot of woods close to my houses, so a snake could have climbed the T-14's pole and scared them away.. Good Luck in 2022

Dave

[charlesgremillion]

Thanks, I will be putting up snake guards for next year.