Bluebirds chasing PM's away

bigfootokie · Thu Mar 17, 2011 4:03 pm

Have had several PM's stop to check out my housing the last few days but a pair of Bluebirds will always chase them off. The Bluebirds are not nesting there but use the high perch to ambush bugs on the ground. I regularly check the house and gourds for other birds that may start a nest but have had none so far. Last year the Bluebirds used the high perch but I never saw them fuss with the PM's when they flew in. I have 5 houses mounted on my property for Bluebirds no closer than 250ft from the PM housing and they have been used many years successfully. Is there anything I can do or will the PM's eventually make a stand?

Thanks
Jim

Jeff Robinson · Thu Mar 17, 2011 4:35 pm

Jim,

Same thing happened to me the first couple years, but as long as the Bluebirds aren't set up in your Martin housing, the Martins will most likely make a stand.

In my case, that's exactly what happened. Once I had a couple Martins on board, they claimed site fidelity and defended it to the hilt. Now they get along just fine. Even though the Bluebirds still use the high perches, they usually don't when multiple Martins are on.

Jeff

bigfootokie · Thu Mar 17, 2011 5:33 pm

Thanks Jeff,
I hoped that would be the case, but I was beginning to be concerned since all the PM visitors have been run off for the past week.

Doug Martin - PA · Thu Mar 17, 2011 8:48 pm

Successful nesting blue birds are becoming very tenacious.

That BB could very well drive off many Martins before one finally puts it in it's place. I suggest a farther move away and a separate perch close to the BB house.

The pair of BB I had last year drove starlings away with ease. He was nasty. He also took my Martin to the ground. Luckily I had multiple poles and perches. I get involved in these fights too.

Get out there and give that BB heck for chasing them. Move them as far away as possible. Give them their own perch above their house if you have to.

Eventually they will get along.

loco for purple · Thu Mar 17, 2011 9:32 pm

I find the story about the bluebirds chasing martins away very odd. I have had a pair of bluebirds nest every year under my martin housing.I have the martin housing about twenty feet and the bluebird house about fifteen feet under the martin housing . In fact before the martins get here they check out all the martin housing before always using the bluebird house. At this time, the female is sitting on eggs and the male has been feeding her bugs. I think there are about a hundred martins here at this time and they never interact . They just ignore each other. The blue birds are great at spotting hawks so I love them.......

Keith · Thu Mar 17, 2011 9:51 pm

Jim,
I do understand your concern with the BB. Many on this forum think it ridiculous that I discourage the BB from hanging out around the PM housing but I enjoy the BB in their place a further distance away. I think that the BB can be successful in driving some Martins away from new housing and when I set up PM housing my choice will be the Purple Martin.
Good luck,
Keith

Ed Pace · Thu Mar 17, 2011 10:11 pm

Bigfoot:: I have a few pair of BBs on my land for several years with no trouble except last year. One pair started useing the top of my T-14 to hunt from. He started to get possessive and chase interested martins away. This is what I did:I put a bb house with a trap in it on a 6 foot poll under the T 14. In almost no time the male went in,I spanked his butt (lightly)and sent him home. It worked for me.

Guest · Thu Mar 17, 2011 10:12 pm

Here in Wisconsin the BB nest before the Martins get here. Then, by the time the BB are ready to lay their second clutch the martins have already come en-mass and the BB don't stand a chance of taking a nesting spot from a martin. And i keep my martin housing closed until about 10 days (give or take) before their arrival dates from the past.(depending upon the weather)

RC Moser · Fri Mar 18, 2011 5:47 am

I would just remove the perch then put it up later in the summer when you get PMs.

SoIndyDon · Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:09 am

I have a bluebird house 30-40 ft. from the martin poles. The bluebirds take this as home and have never bothered the martins.

This tactic is suggested in some of the Purple Martin literature and works well for me.

Courtney-NC · Fri Mar 18, 2011 2:45 pm

I too had this problem when my bb house was in the same area as my martin house (within 30 ft). I had to move the bluebird house to the other end of my property and turn the entrance facing away from the martin house. The bluebirds still occasionally perch on top of the martin housing but they don't chase martins off. I haven't had any (landing) martin visitors yet this year, and the bluebirds are taking their sweet time building a nest. My chickadees are nearly done. They have lined their moss nest with hair now.