Fledging and cats
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Mstan
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2024 7:52 pm
- Location: Missouri
- Martin Colony History: 2023 two gourd racks 24 gourds ,kept no records. Became an official landlord. 2024 28 gourds keeping records.
My birds are currently fledging. I have three barn cats that I lock up at night in the barn. During the day they are loose. One of my cats sometimes will sit by the gourd racks. I always move him away as the birds do not appreciate him there. Have any of you had issues with your cats and the martins? Thank you
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C.C.Martins
- Posts: 2876
- Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:15 am
- Location: Corpus Christi Tx
- Martin Colony History: 2016- Visitors.
2017- 5 pair. 15 fledged
2018- 18 pair. 85 fledged
2019- 17 pair. 81 fledged
2020- 25 pair. 111 fledged
2021- 28 pair. 118 fledged
2022- 33 pair. 151 fledged
2023- 33 pair. 165 fledged
2024- 40 pair.
HOSP: 52 Starlings: 29
Home colony: mix natural, super, Troyer and excluder gourds, enlarged compartment house. All SREH.
Satellite colony: Oso Bay Preserve: 36 PMCA excluder gourds, 6 room trio mini castle with troyer tunnels and enlarged compartments.
2019: Visitors
2020: 3 pair, 11 fledged
2021: 10 pair, 30 fledged
2022: 11 pair, 35 fledged
2023: 18 pair, 101 fledged
2024: 39 pair,
PMCA member
Just don't tolerate their presence. Any jumpers will not stand a chance.
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
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Martintown33
- Posts: 1025
- Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:21 pm
- Location: Laplace,La
- Martin Colony History: Colony started in 1998. 2 s&k modified houses and gourd rack
I have neighborhood cats that strategically hunt my martins ..they hide and wait for something to fall from the housing.. as Tom said, I do not tolerate them hanging around.. these are stray cats, that don’t belong to me, so I pop them in the butt with a BB gun.. it doesn’t harm them or penetrate the skin, but stings and scares the hell out of them. After a couple of pops in the butt, they learn fast not to come around.. these being your own cats, I realize you can’t go that route, but I’ve read there are powders or scents that you can put own the ground, that may deter them from the area.. .. I also have used bird netting , layered up on the ground around my sites.. cats hate to walk on it because their claws get caught up in the fine netting. May be worth a try..
Good luck,
Rob
Good luck,
Rob
PMCA member
Laplace, La
Laplace, La
I remember seeing sometime back some type of motion sensor equipped water sprinklers that one could use to keep cats away from things.
If you do an internet search for something like "motion activated sprinkler", I think some come up.
If you do an internet search for something like "motion activated sprinkler", I think some come up.
