Do Decoys Work / Worth it? Dawn Song?

[MJM]

Hi again guys- short recap: I've had martins for 3-4 years but they just "showed up" at my last place- I moved, and want to start a colony but I never had to "attract" them before. I bought a 6-house troyer gourd setup, two questions:

1) Should I put out decoys? If so, how many- 2? I feel like a martin will be kind of like, "seriously" when they see a decoy up close, but then again they are sold- so they must work somehow.

2) Should I play the dawn song?

Thanks!

[MJM]

Shameless bump- I figured I would hear from FlyinLowe or CC!!

[tor]

Yes, decoys work. Mostly when you try to start up attracting Martins. 2-3 on perching rods above or near the gourds / house. As soon as you get past 5-10 pair, they don't tend to work as good, not to say they don't work at all when you already have a few pair regularly every year. By that time the Martins usually do a great job attracting newcomers.

Yes, dawn songs work too, again, if you are in the process of starting to attract Martins. Start the dawn song while it's still pitch dark outside (use a timer, if you have one). I have heard them way up there in complete darkness (like 4 in the morning dark), singing dawnsong.

Good luck.

Tor

[MJM]

Thank you, sounds like both are worth trying since it is a brand new colony! Appreciate it.

[flyin-lowe]

The dawn song is probably the best tool to draw martins in to investigate a site. Once they drop in and realize their is housing it is up to them if they like your site or not.

I have used decoys in the past but not so much for attracting martins but to help fool hawks when they attack a colony. As they come swooping in they will find the martins that are not paying attention and the slowest ones to fly away, which is typically the decoys. One year I took my decoys down because I had an ASY female that would not leave it alone. From the time she arrived, for a couple days she would just keep attacking it, flapping her wings against it etc. Not sure what it was about the decoy that caused her to dislike it but after two days I realized she was not going to leave it alone and didn't want to cause any undo stress.

[C.C.Martins]

Sorry, late chiming in! have to "watch" - (read stalk) the birds as they come in to bed.

Agree with Flyin-lowe and tor- best tool is the chatter. BUT id stay why not both...overwhelm their senses. A decoy won't bother them once they get established, but martins like martins. Had one male last year who took exception to a decoy but only when the chicks were older; he kept buzzing and buzzing it. I didn't put it up this year.

Play the chatter like crazy!!

[dsonyay]

Yes.. do put one or two up. I saw hawks go after the decoys two times over the years, which allowed the PMs to get away safely.

I’ve also seen PMs seem to interact with the decoys by swooping in on them from the air and/or squawking (the raspy sound they make) at them.

I like decoys more for the protective benefit from PM predators

[dsonyay]

And the dawn song is incredibly beneficial in attracting PMs.

I was blasting the Dawn Song from my backyard window many years ago in Slidell, and I had PMs flying from the gourds and then hovering at the window near the speaker. It was wild. The dawn song seems to be very mesmerizing to them.

[MJM]

Thank you again guys- this is super helpful. I bought 3 decoys and will be pumping the dawn song as the season starts! I don't plan to leave the decoys up if I happen to land some martins. We will see. You guys are all awesome, thank you! Fingers crossed they find me again!

[C.C.Martins]

Thank you again guys- this is super helpful. I bought 3 decoys and will be pumping the dawn song as the season starts! I don't plan to leave the decoys up if I happen to land some martins. We will see. You guys are all awesome, thank you! Fingers crossed they find me again!

Hoping for you! Keep those decoys handy though, sure do come in handy if/when hawks come calling.
Tom

[Dave Reynolds]

.. I used the Dawn Song in the early part of the Season…. It worked great in bring the Martins in…. The hard part is waiting for them to except your housing …. After they excepted my housing and moved in, I never played it anymore.. Once you have Martins they will bring more Martins to your colony.. That’s what happened to me and my colony.

Dave