Hawk attacks

[Stingray]

Hello all,
I've been a landlord since 2005. I have 18 supergourds on two racks.
In my years as a landlord I'd witnessed a hawk taking a young martin off the porch of a house that I had when I first started. Went to gourds after that.
In the last three days I've witnessed two successful hawk attacks, one at about 9am and the other at 730pm this evening.
This evening's attack happened as I was sitting out back enjoying the martins drop out of the sky to enter the gourds for the night. I really enjoy that.
As I watched, a hawk suddenly came from the side and grabbed a male martin as he approached the gourds. Similar to what happened in the morning attack. Both times the attack took only seconds, I had no time to react and felt helpless.
It's a terrible sight to see.
I am clearly visible maybe 20-25 feet from the gourds but apparently that does not dissuade the hawk.
I know that it's nature but damn it I don't like this part of the plan.
I'm going to invest in an air horn and make some noise right before the martins start coming in for the night. I'll continue to stay outside with them until they're safely in.
Love these little songbirds.
I can't think of much more that I can do and hope to have a good season.

This season I also had a pair of starlings breach my supergourds with crescent shaped entrances. I could not believe it! Until now I didn't they could. I took their nesting out and if my aim were better with my co2 pellet gun they wouldn't be around.
I did hit one and some feathers flew but so did they.
They kept coming back but would fly off as soon as they saw me.
They finally gave up in the last week.

[brent]

Stingray, it is a big problem. The air horn works if you can sound it right when the hawk is attacking. I listen to the martin’s alert and then grab the air horn. Once I see the hawk I sound the air horn. It does work. It interrupts the hawk. Also what has worked is the use of decoys. The hawk will often approach the decoys giving the martins a chance to escape the attack. Good luck. I know it’s discouraging and brutal to watch. Brent

[Stingray]

Brent,
Thanks for your reply. Good point about the horn. Both attacks have caught my and martins and I by surprise so the decoys may be a good option too.
Again, thanks for the help.

[Martintown33]

Agree with y’all. Hawk attacks are a terrible thing to witness.. i saw a hawk make the exact type of attack, stingray. He tried to grab a male as he was zipping into the entrance in the evening.. luckily he missed.. and agree, they happen so fast.. you have to not only have your air horn with you, but your finger on the button.. if you can blow that horn as the hawk is attacking.. that split second saved, of having your finger on the button is big. As Brent said, if you can blow that horn before he grabs one, it will startled the hawk enough, that the martins can escape. Luckily I haven’t seen a hawk around in about 2 weeks, after frequent attacks.. good luck to all of us, that they stay away..
Rob

[tor]

I’m so sorry to hear you’re having such a tough time. It’s definitely not a pleasant experience. I’ve had similar issues with hawks around our large colony. They usually come from the same direction, so I place my dove decoys between the colony and the area they’re coming from. It’s crucial to move the decoys around frequently to keep them guessing.

Right after fledge time, they seem to become even more aggressive. I usually stay outside the entire time they gather above the colony, waiting until they’re all inside. I try to stay close to the colony in an open area, moving around a bit.

I hope you have a successful season and stay vigilant!

Tor