I feel that I need to tell this story, because this is a new observation for me. Recently I have seen and neighbors home all day have told me we had some hawks back in the neighborhood. So Saturday, as a precautionary step I decided to put one decoy up on each of my two houses. I had them premounted on a piece of bamboo and would easily zip tie them to the porch railings, making the change quickly. Right now I have 9 pair with subs still coming in, and 40 eggs. I had read many times sometimes the hawks will attack the decoys, and give more time for the real martins to escape. My martins had not been acting as if they had been attacked, but I did see them mobbing a hawk (I think it's a Coopers) a couple days ago. I'm not home during the weekdays, so I only can watch close on the weekends.
Well I put up the decoys when most the males were out feeding and the females were sitting on the eggs until I lowered the houses. It was not five minutes after raising the houses all hell broke loose. The martins lined up in the sky like fighter planes lining up on their targets. Each one came in on the first decoy (the decoy mounted on a mostly adult occupied house) one after another giving a aggressive vocalization right as they got over their target. This went on for 30 minutes. I kept thinking they have eggs there and they will accept the decoys soon. Well their bombing runs just continued until I had 20 or so martins flying in single file continuing to attack the decoy.
I wanted to wait it out, but after 45 minutes I decided to lower the house and take down the decoy on that house. I did, but they just went after the decoy on the other house. I watched for another 15 minutes until I couldn't take it anymore. The martins just would not land on either house. I took the last decoy down, and the martins came right back in and everything returned to normal.
I have had these same decoys up many times before especially when I was attracting. The difference is I had them up before the martins arrived. They seemed to accept them just fine then, but not now. Has anyone else had this experience or do you all think this is another case of "Don't Mess with their Housing" when their in residence!
Martins hate my decoys!
Dennis,
Ironic you posted your experience with a decoy as I logged on to write the exact same finding over the weekend with my birds.
I have the same situation with a pair of cooer's hawks in the area and added the decoy for a target bird in the event of an attack. Seems my martins too were the ones doing all the attacking. In fact, I went out this morning and the decoy was upside down from martin attacks I'm sure. I thought my birds would let up their strafing sorties but no such luck. I too have had decoys up prior to the martins arrival and had no problems...But maybe after they begin nesting they get more territorial. I too think I'll remove the decoy this evening.
Anybody else have any ideas???
Ironic you posted your experience with a decoy as I logged on to write the exact same finding over the weekend with my birds.
I have the same situation with a pair of cooer's hawks in the area and added the decoy for a target bird in the event of an attack. Seems my martins too were the ones doing all the attacking. In fact, I went out this morning and the decoy was upside down from martin attacks I'm sure. I thought my birds would let up their strafing sorties but no such luck. I too have had decoys up prior to the martins arrival and had no problems...But maybe after they begin nesting they get more territorial. I too think I'll remove the decoy this evening.
Anybody else have any ideas???
"Birds are wild because they have to be,
Man is wild because he chooses to be"
----Mark Twain
Man is wild because he chooses to be"
----Mark Twain
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The Olsons
- Posts: 3200
- Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:57 pm
- Location: North Padre Island, TX
Dennis and Carlymac,
We put our decoys up before the martins arrive and they work usually very good in "tricking" the hawks and are also very readily accepted by the martins. However, now that they have been at your site for a while and have eggs and babies they want to defend their homes. Do you have any way of mounting these decoys on something like a roosting perch or maybe a balcony on a trowel near the housing or something similar you have in your yard. It would still get the hawk's attention, but not get the martins all worked up
Best wishes and good luck keeping the hawks away and please keep us posted what you come up with
Astrid
We put our decoys up before the martins arrive and they work usually very good in "tricking" the hawks and are also very readily accepted by the martins. However, now that they have been at your site for a while and have eggs and babies they want to defend their homes. Do you have any way of mounting these decoys on something like a roosting perch or maybe a balcony on a trowel near the housing or something similar you have in your yard. It would still get the hawk's attention, but not get the martins all worked up
Best wishes and good luck keeping the hawks away and please keep us posted what you come up with
Astrid
It does strike me as weird. I guess I just assumed they would accept them, but there was much more disruptions than say a new sub male showing up would create. It was great airshow (until I couldn't take it anymore) though! Once again these birds have taught me something about them I did not know. I put the decoys on a fence fairly close to the houses and they are fine with that. I just wonder what they would have done if I had left them up.
Dennis D
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The Olsons
- Posts: 3200
- Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:57 pm
- Location: North Padre Island, TX
Dennis,
I am glad you found another place for your decoys
As for what the martins would have done with/to the deccoy if you would have left it ....you just never know with them....they will always surprise me. When our subadult martins first came back we had a young female "flirt" with a decoy. She got real close to it and kept talking to it. Took her a while before she noticed.... 
Astrid
I am glad you found another place for your decoys
As for what the martins would have done with/to the deccoy if you would have left it ....you just never know with them....they will always surprise me. When our subadult martins first came back we had a young female "flirt" with a decoy. She got real close to it and kept talking to it. Took her a while before she noticed.... Astrid
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John Miller
- Posts: 4866
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
Dennis
I've been thinking on this. Many ASY females in the park sites I manage are sitting on eggs. At one house that's all ASY pairs, I saw no birds on the house early this morning, but spotted a small group of the males sitting in the top of a dead tree, talking with one another in quite chirps and "waiting" I guess. At another house in another part of the park, where some subbies have taken residence, things are less relaxed and the ASY males there tend to sit in front of their entrances. Perhaps martins know one another, and as you concluded, viewed your decoys as new subbies -- potential threats.
John M
I've been thinking on this. Many ASY females in the park sites I manage are sitting on eggs. At one house that's all ASY pairs, I saw no birds on the house early this morning, but spotted a small group of the males sitting in the top of a dead tree, talking with one another in quite chirps and "waiting" I guess. At another house in another part of the park, where some subbies have taken residence, things are less relaxed and the ASY males there tend to sit in front of their entrances. Perhaps martins know one another, and as you concluded, viewed your decoys as new subbies -- potential threats.
John M
It was interesting behavior to me. I mean they were adamant about those decoys. They definitely were treating them as the enemy. I have robins occasionally fly up and perch on my housing as they scan the ground for food and the martins totally ignore them! I believed they WOULD NOT go back into the housing until I took the decoys down. I wanted to wait them out because I really wanted them up for protection, but I don't know if they would have went back or not.
Dennis D
I didn't get a chance to remove the up side down decoy yesterday but have noticed the dive bombing has syopped, perhaps my birds think they killed the intruder????
This is the part I love about martins....trying to figure them out!!!
This is the part I love about martins....trying to figure them out!!!
"Birds are wild because they have to be,
Man is wild because he chooses to be"
----Mark Twain
Man is wild because he chooses to be"
----Mark Twain
Are you sure the martins knocked it upside down... or possibly something else?carlymac wrote:I didn't get a chance to remove the up side down decoy yesterday but have noticed the dive bombing has syopped, perhaps my birds think they killed the intruder????
This is the part I love about martins....trying to figure them out!!!
Dennis D
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The Olsons
- Posts: 3200
- Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:57 pm
- Location: North Padre Island, TX
Dennis and Carlymac,
When I wrote to both of you yesterday that our martins are fine with the decoys, never a problem since the decoys were there before the martins.....I did not know that today out of the blue (purple
) 4 ASY males from the martin house the decoy is on started to attacking it. They buzzed the decoy, they sat next to it and tried to push it off the perch. This went on for about 20 minutes and then they stopped like nothing ever happened and one of the ASY males set next to the decoy and started preening himself.... 
The decoy is now hanging upside down, maybe the guys just needed a good workout 
Anyway, the decoy now is hanging upside down and it is the work of the martins I guess they will always surprise me.
Astrid
When I wrote to both of you yesterday that our martins are fine with the decoys, never a problem since the decoys were there before the martins.....I did not know that today out of the blue (purple
) 4 ASY males from the martin house the decoy is on started to attacking it. They buzzed the decoy, they sat next to it and tried to push it off the perch. This went on for about 20 minutes and then they stopped like nothing ever happened and one of the ASY males set next to the decoy and started preening himself.... The decoy is now hanging upside down, maybe the guys just needed a good workout Anyway, the decoy now is hanging upside down and it is the work of the martins I guess they will always surprise me. Astrid
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FlaSpartan
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:46 am
- Location: Florida/Clermont
Dennis -
The same thing happened to me at the beginning of the season here in Central Florida. I held out for about 15-20 minutes before I took the decoy off their house. (In the meantime, a Cooper's Hawk was attracted by all the commotion and got one of my ASY males.) The decoy now resides on our deck railing, not far from the houses but far enough not to be seen as an intruder, apparently. It definitely fools the hawk though, for I often find it nose down when I get home from work. Have you got a spot nearby your housing where you can put them?
Nancy
The same thing happened to me at the beginning of the season here in Central Florida. I held out for about 15-20 minutes before I took the decoy off their house. (In the meantime, a Cooper's Hawk was attracted by all the commotion and got one of my ASY males.) The decoy now resides on our deck railing, not far from the houses but far enough not to be seen as an intruder, apparently. It definitely fools the hawk though, for I often find it nose down when I get home from work. Have you got a spot nearby your housing where you can put them?
Nancy
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Guest
My birds did the same thing last night and they've been here since the first of June and the decoy has been there the whole time.
I was sitting on the back porch watching them feed babies and they're both coming and going on a regular schedule in and out of the apartment.
Marty (bless his heart) takes a break and roosts on the top of the house and all of the sudden notices the plastic bird and goes crazy. He starts attacking and then Martha joins in and then they even go round up a few friends from the house down the street to help run off the decoy. They're all dive bombing at the decoy. This goes on for about 20 minutes although the posse left Marty on his own after about the first 10 minutes.
Finally, Marty and Martha roost on the roof, take a look at the plastic bird, chatter about it a bit and then go back to feeding babies.
I was sitting on the back porch watching them feed babies and they're both coming and going on a regular schedule in and out of the apartment.
Marty (bless his heart) takes a break and roosts on the top of the house and all of the sudden notices the plastic bird and goes crazy. He starts attacking and then Martha joins in and then they even go round up a few friends from the house down the street to help run off the decoy. They're all dive bombing at the decoy. This goes on for about 20 minutes although the posse left Marty on his own after about the first 10 minutes.
Finally, Marty and Martha roost on the roof, take a look at the plastic bird, chatter about it a bit and then go back to feeding babies.
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Guest
Trying for so long and the day I took down the decoys I had six show up never had that many in all the years I've been trying. this year alone I only had one or two come around just he other day after the decoy were removed the very next day six show up you tell me what happened.