Hosp Count

[flyin-lowe]

I have heard mention here and there of attraction spots, but I have never had problems with a wooden house not attracting HOSP. This time of year, if it has a hole in it a HOSP will check it out.

[C.C.Martins]

Agree, just about anywhere you put it, they will come. Somehow they seem to like a box placed on a corner, but if you place them, they will come.

[Jairow]

I had only been catching females in my trap probably for about two months now, but somehow this morning I was able to get two males. I couldn’t be happier!

There’s two females and two male HOSP in the trap right now. I’m thinking of leaving one male and one female HOSP in the trap to hopefully attract more. Or is two males better than one for attracting more HOSP?

That’s a total of 24 HOSP caught in 2025.

[Conrad Baker]

Dang! You guys are neck and neck. Nail em!

Spare o doors are gold, pure gold. Take good care of it. Even if you don't have a trio house, its easy enough to knock together a bird house and hang the spare o door on it...can make it moveable too.
This set up is near our gourd rack, two trap gourds and two spare o door traps back to back.20250318_172804.jpg

Nice! Are those attraction spots on the sides? I've heard a little about them but have never tried them. And yes, those doors are very hard to come by! I bought them from a gentleman in Indiana. He said he should just start making something like that and selling them.

Speaking of HOSP, has anyone ever used the decoy strategy of letting them nest and dipping eggs in olive oil, or shaking, while the BBs nest? And if so, does that work if you have a lot of HOSP?

Anyhow, I hope everyone has a great season and plenty of fledglings!

I have seen "fake " sparrow eggs for sale on some websites. Remove the real egg and replace with the fake one. They will sit on them until you eventually take them out with a pellet gun or catch them with a trap.

[C.C.Martins]

Male and a female will work im thinking. Well done!

[Thomas Maddox]

I got excited when I saw a bird in my trap today, well until I learned it was a female Cardinal. Luckily she wasn't in there long and flew out just fine. This was baited with cracked corn. Never caught anything other than a HOSP with that.
Wondering if putting fake eggs(or real ones) would attract HOSPS to investigate? Worth a try I guess. I'm stuck on 19 for now.

[Martintown33]

Great trapping tips!! . Yall are outsmarting them! Yall have it down to a science! None trapped here. 17 shot. Haven’t seen any in several days.
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

I got excited when I saw a bird in my trap today, well until I learned it was a female Cardinal. Luckily she wasn't in there long and flew out just fine. This was baited with cracked corn. Never caught anything other than a HOSP with that.
Wondering if putting fake eggs(or real ones) would attract HOSPS to investigate? Worth a try I guess. I'm stuck on 19 for now.

I used white bread for bait in my trap. Also, a few feathers in the trap will attract them.

[Thomas Maddox]

I got excited when I saw a bird in my trap today, well until I learned it was a female Cardinal. Luckily she wasn't in there long and flew out just fine. This was baited with cracked corn. Never caught anything other than a HOSP with that.
Wondering if putting fake eggs(or real ones) would attract HOSPS to investigate? Worth a try I guess. I'm stuck on 19 for now.
[/quote

I never had luck with the feathers, but have had luck with using their nesting material in the trap.

I used white bread for bait in my trap. Also, a few feathers in the trap will attract them.

[PurplePupil]

Up to 25 as of today. This morning I got a Chickadee in my Trio house! Never had that happen before! What's your preferred way of dealing with HOSP when you catch them? Do any of you send them to a wildlife rehabber?

[C.C.Martins]

Good numbers! One very surprised chickadee im sure!!

I sack and whack, its over very fast.

I leave them for the opossum that comes around, used to throw frozen and thawed the sparrows in a near by pond, turtles love them. suppose you could ask around and see if raptor rehabbers need them.

[Thomas Maddox]

"Sack and wack." LOL. I got #20 yesterday. Almost all of them have been male

[C.C.Martins]

I'm helping a budding colony in town, we set up 6 excluder gourds in dec, within sight of a non managed trio that has martins every year, for years and years. Im planning on stealing those birds.
Anyway, low and behold they showed up last Saturday..to be attacked by the resident house sparrow pair.

Tried an insert trap, he it spotted it and his mate took the sprig of grass I put in the hole but what was interesting is he would not allow her to enter!

So tomorrow I'm bringing the ST1 and a bait bird with the insert trap and get him. If he balks I'm setting the insert trap and will put the bird barrier audio call box in his gourd and play a male house sparrow.

Grrrrrr, go figure I hate sparrows.

[C.C.Martins]

Update:
Got the pair. Think what did him in was the female got caught first. She was interested in the nest material, plastic, cotton balls and the white feathers added to the trap. I added some foam cut to fit the trip mechanisms loop and stuck the white feathers into it...she went for that. Her mate came down and was all over the trap, got him soon after. Dragged their nest out.

Couldn't take seeing that other martin house full of sparrows and struggling martins, plopped the trap within sight of the house and caught 3 more, 2 females and a male.

When I left, martins had accepted two gourds.
Life is good.

[Thomas Maddox]

C.C. well freaking done! My MIL has at least 3 pairs of HOSPS nesting. I'm off the next 2 days, so I am going after them!

[Thomas Maddox]

Just got #21 today! Somehow #20 escaped Somehow. That's the second escapee I've had. Both had gone into the middle compartment of the ST1 trap where they aren't supposed to be able to do so.

[C.C.Martins]

So they got trapped in the side compartmens, went to the middle then somehow got past that flap and into an open one right?

Check that spring on the little door. Worse case you could just jam that door, I bought replacement parts last year for that door but never figured out how to fix it when it comes to that.

I love this thread by the way. Your leading the pack i think!

[Thomas Maddox]

Right. The lid for the middle compartment is zip tied, so that has to be what happened. I had a bunch of corn near edges of the little doors that lead into the middle compartment, so maybe they didn't close completely when the HOSPS went in. I've caught and kept over 90% of the catches, so still good, but if it keeps happening, I may just close the lid on one of the sides so once one of them enters and sets it off, all lids will be closed.
I doubt I'm in the lead lol, but I am dedicated right now.

[PurplePupil]

Today on #27 I got two birds in one in my Van Ert trap! The male went in and the female got snapped on her neck and had her wing go inside the box as he hit the ring! I can't believe it. Has anyone else had that happen? Unfortunately, the male did escape due to my not knowing 100% what to do the situation.

[PurplePupil]

No way! My luck is crazy today! I caught a male and a female in the trap again, but this time they were all in the box! #28 and #29 are now gone.