Attempted Hostile Takeover by HOSPs

[pcolamike]

I thought that I had at least started to make a dent in the local HOSP population between my use of a repeating ground trap and occasionally placing a universal trap in one of my 12 quad pod cavities. No luck getting a nesting pair of Martins this year, but lots of vocal visitors. I've resolved myself to "better luck next year". Still using the songbird magnet and keeping a few cavities open though, in hopes of making an impression on the visitors I get on a daily basis. Had to head down to Florida to visit the wife's family and attend a nephews wedding. This meant closing all 12 cavity entrances to keep the HOSP's from taking over, and putting the repeating ground trap away so no other birds would get trapped for the 12 days we would be gone. Returned home yesterday and at least one pair of HOSP's had built a nest in the gaps between the pods and the pole. It was massive. Pulled out the nest, but did not find any eggs. Put SREHs back on a few of the pods, and they started to build in one of the pods. I removed the interior perch from that particular pod and put the Universal trap in. They were so dead set on building quickly that both the male and female were trapped at the same time within 30 minutes. One became a bait bird for the repeating ground trap and brought in 2 more females that evening. Nine more made it into the repeating ground trap today, but haven't seen a HOSP near the Martin pole since I caught the first two.

[wmfamily]

Yes they are vermin and you need to stay after them constantly. I have traps out almost all year and currently don't have any hanging around. I do have a little helper though since a mocking bird has nested near by. They seem to know the sparrows and starlings are bad and chase them away. I also have a four pair of martin keeping them away too. I saw two pile onto a male sparrow earlier in the year and a dead sparrow under the martin house a week later. I don't know if the martins did that or the mocking bird.

[flyin-lowe]

Keep working it will pay off. HOSP have a pretty small home territory and you can make a dent in the population. When I set my first martin house up at my old place I shot and trapped over 100 of them the first year. The next year less, and the next year even less. Eventually before I moved out I was only getting 5 or so a year. I lived between two farms with grain, cattle, etc. so if I can knock down that population almost any population can be knocked down. In the beginning it seems like a never ending battle.