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What Happened to My Housemartin Nests?

Ladybird2
08/07/2019 08:25

Something seems to have attacked my 2 housemartin nests in the night - they have been nesting here for a few years now, started with 1 nest and then made another, it was lovely having them and every year they have produced broods. But this year I recently found one nest in pieces on the ground, previously to this a baby martin dead on the ground some way away from the nest which I couldn't understand. Last night I heard some odd noises which sounded like they were outside but on a high level. This morning I found pieces of the second nest on the ground, and saw a big hole in the side of the nest. It looks like something has attacked the nests, they wouldn't just fall into pieces like this :( could it be an owl? The reason I ask is that last week my son noticed a large owl perched on the ridge of our conservatory roof, something I'd never seen before, and I wondered if the owl might have done it?  But wouldn't it have eaten the baby rather than drop it?  So upsetting and I am so sad for the martings and I can't get up there to protect them, so I wonder if they are gone for good now :(

  • 0 08/07/2019 20:56
    Hi, thanks for the response! I think the attacks happened in the night - after midnight, in the early hours which is why I'm thinking owl. The first one was completely off the wall and smashed on the ground with no sign of its occupants, I found it like that one morning. The second one I heard noises last night in the small hours, then this morning found pieces of the nest on the ground and looked up to see the nest still attached to the house wall but with a very large hole in the side of it and no sign of the birds. The only culprit I could think of was the owl we saw the previous week, perched on the apex of the conservatory which would have given it a good view of both nests and it wouldn't have been far for it to get to from there, but I don't know how it would have 'hovered' or clung to the house wall or gutters to do it!
  • 0 08/07/2019 20:58
    We do have sparrows here and spotted woodpeckers too but I didn't think they were active at night, and after seeing the owl in a kind of odd place where we haven't seen one before that's what made me suspicous. I am so sad that the martins will probably not come back now if they've been attacked here.
  • 0 08/07/2019 21:10
    It was definitely dark when I heard the odd noises, around 1am, and I got up and looked out of the window and it was pitch black. The nest had been OK, and I only found the bits of it on the floor this morning, so I think it definitely got damaged between last night and this morning. Perhaps it was a woodpecker then, because that could cling onto the house wall couldn't it? The nests were in typical place for martins, right under the eaves/gutters and I couldn't see how an owl could get at them, so perhaps the owl we saw was a 'red herring' coincidence! I'm not sure what else could have happened as the nests have been there for several years, used without a problem, and suddenly both of them are now off/damaged :(
  • 0 08/07/2019 21:27
    I took at photo this evening but it's not very good or clear, it was rather dull and overcast, how do I attach a photo to this?
  • 0 12/07/2019 12:03
    Update - I think sparrows may have destroyed the nests - over the last few days I have found 2 tiny martin nestlings, one right below the second partly destroyed nest and one further away - and this is what I had found previously with slightly larger babies, there had been one too far away to have just dropped out. The babies also have not been eaten, I think the growing numbers of sparrows we have here, coupled with a potential nest further along, tucked behind a drainpipe on my neighbour's house, has caused the sparrows to become territorial to the extent that they have attacked and destroyed the martins' nests. I doubt that the martins will return after this, especially with the sparrows growing in number. So sad.
  • 0 13/07/2019 13:34
    Are there any sparrow-proof feeders which would encourage other birds? I do think that the sparrows are bullying other birds away, but I like feeding the birds and watching them, it's a shame if that needs to stop because of the sparrow imbalance. Is there a particular food that sparrows do not like? I have seen occasional bluetits and goldfinches too but not often and a woodpecker in a nearby oak tree which hasn't been visiting much either lately.
  • 0 13/07/2019 14:14
    Looking online I am going to try stringing some fishing line randomly over the cage style peanut feeder I am using, it is supposed to help discourage sparrows which are supposed to be put off by it, plus I am going to try hanging a suet feeder horizontally with a plastic plant pot over the top of it to encourage upside down feeders, and I will move a feeder to another part of the garden too, I will see what effect this has
  • 0 02/11/2019 12:35
    I am pleased to report that I have now rigged up a clear plastic bell-shaped cover with a hanging suet cake inside for birds that don't mind hanging upside down or underneath - NO sparrows are bothering, AND several bluetits are using it regularly! That's a result seeing as any feeders that were out before were being raided by the sparrows who bullied other birds away! I'm really pleased and hope it continues to work!
  • 0 02/11/2019 13:00
    Hi Dave
    I rigged one up myself made from a large sized, clear plastic drink cup (Ebay) which I cut shorter to size, and then cut short slits into it to flare it out a bit like a bell shape, put a hole in the bottom and then got a cylindrical shaped suet cake, the type ready to hang with the hanger already inside it, put the plastic hanging loop through the hole of the cup and hung it up with that. It's quite a small space difference between the cake and the cup, hopefully discouraging all but the smallest birds. The cake is just shorter than the length of the cup. A bit Blue Peter haha! I have also just ordered two11cm clear 'orchid' pots made by Steward garden products, which I am hoping to use in the same way for slightly larger, ready to hang suet 'banquets' by winstonwildsltd on ebay, so I will see how they go! As long as it's awkward for the sparrows and something which makes it impossible to get at unless they hang off the bottom of it I think it should work :)
  • 0 02/11/2019 14:22
    It might help others who have a sparrow invasion problem? I don't really have a local florist to ask, but the pots aren't that pricey for what they are and I don't mind spending a few pounds if it brings back the other small birds to the garden, will look forward to seeing what visits over the winter :)

    Lynda