martin cleans up the mess
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Craig Dyer
- Posts: 500
- Joined: Fri May 13, 2005 2:24 pm
- Location: Nevada, TX
- Martin Colony History: Area is rural. Offer 28 compartments...metal housing (Lonestar Goliad) & Supergourds all w/crescent entrance holes. Purple martins are abundant here and eager for quality, well maintained, safe housing. Expect near 100% occupancy this season.
Late this morning, while the martins were out foraging, I shot a sparrow that was investigating an available cavity in my Trio. It was a clean shot as it dropped right in it's tracks on the porch. Before I could lower the house to remove it, an adult male martin swooped in, picked up the dead sparrow with his beak & tossed it off the porch. He obviously knew it was dead & simply removed it. As a new landlord, I was quite surprised & impressed. It was as if he knew exactly what had occurred & was helping me clean up the mess. These martins are intelligent birds. Is that behavior unusual?
Craig Dyer
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Emil Pampell-Tx
- Posts: 6743
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:26 pm
- Location: Tx, Richmond (SW of Houston)
- Martin Colony History: First started in Gretna, La in 1969 with a small homemade house, have had martins ever since at 2 different homes in Texas
It seems like the martins are sort of always watching their cavity. If they see a live or dead bird at their entance, they swoop down and try to remove it. Of course if its alive, the live ones usually fly away..I think that is normal what you witnessed, but I actually have never seen it happen where the dead sparrow or starling was just hanging there on the porch..I have seen them try to remove a block of wood off the porch..
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CUL Lou~Mich
Craig. I have heard several times from folks who say they'll shoot a Starling, and the PMs nearby will mob it on its way to the ground. Almost as it they are mocking it saying " Na Na Na, Told ya to get lost." ha ha. CUL Lou
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Glen Webb Jr
- Posts: 478
- Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:03 pm
- Location: Illinois/Stewardson
Had the same thing happen to me several times before years ago when I used metal houses. It's almost comical to watch.
If I wing a starling with the rifle and it flutters to the ground, usually a martin or two or three will attack it all the way to the ground. Even the tree swallows will gang up on a dead starling when I empty the nest box traps. I'll toss the starlings over to the side for disposal and the tree swallows immediately begin bombing and scolding the lifeless vermin, even when it is laying on the floor. I swear the tree swallows and martins are catching on to what I'm doing. The tree swallows are especially tame this year with my presence. Far more than they ever used to be and I often wonder if I am viewed as a 'helper' of sorts. Sounds silly, but to see how they react is rather odd.
If I wing a starling with the rifle and it flutters to the ground, usually a martin or two or three will attack it all the way to the ground. Even the tree swallows will gang up on a dead starling when I empty the nest box traps. I'll toss the starlings over to the side for disposal and the tree swallows immediately begin bombing and scolding the lifeless vermin, even when it is laying on the floor. I swear the tree swallows and martins are catching on to what I'm doing. The tree swallows are especially tame this year with my presence. Far more than they ever used to be and I often wonder if I am viewed as a 'helper' of sorts. Sounds silly, but to see how they react is rather odd.