Terrorists

The European Starling - "The Terrorist"

Last year it was the House Sparrow who was terrorizing my Purple Martin house.  This year it is the European Starling.

Sometimes I wonder if it is even worth it to put up a Purple Martin house.  Every spring it is a battle between the non native North American birds like the European Starling and the House Sparrow and the native species of birds like the Eastern Bluebird, House Swallow, and Purple Martin as to who will occupy the birdhouses I have placed in our backyard.

Already this year one very aggressive starling has killed one of the Purple Martins who was trying to guard the Purple Martin House.  I've already torn our three starling nests with a total of nine eggs.  I took a picture of the dead Purple Martin (at the base of the bird house) and the starling eggs but I decided not to post them on this blog posting.  I don't want to be too gruesome with my blog postings, this subject is gruesome enough.

Frank "The Birdman"  - the man who installs and maintains my Purple Martin House

Frank the Birdman, the man who put up my Purple Martin house, suggested that I get a gun and shoot the starlings.  Oh sure, that's a nice activity in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood here, me shooting a 22 to kill starlings.  Oh don't get me wrong, I have no compunction about killing these orange beaked, black terrorists but I doubt if I would endear myself to my neighbors in this heretofore quiet neighborhood shooting a 22 caliber rifle every day, killing birds.  Oh yeah, my father's hillbilly genes would come out in me than.  He shot birds all the time on his property. In fact he had a gun at the ready, which upset me every time I visited him.  Funny thing about all his guns, I think they're still in his gun rack.  None of this three sons desired or took them after he died in August of 2000 even though my Mother said "They're now yours."  She also said each of us could have one of the stuffed deer heads in his knotty pine paneled living room. Those deer heads are still in that living room, staring glassy eyed (literally) at the opposite wall.  He also has a stuffed owl.  Nice touch.

My father Isaac in his garden 1962 - he fought a lifelong battle with non-native birds in his garden - the birds usually won

Anyway, back to my current problem with the starlings who are terrorizing my Purple Martins.  Any suggestions short of tearing out their nests each time they build one?

My ladder at the Purple Martin house a short time ago after I cleaned out yet another starling nest

Starling Surpise

My Purple Martin House this morning - after

A few days ago we discovered that there was a starling nest in our Purple Martin house.  How we discovered this fact was that Bill happened to be looking at the Purple Martin house through his binoculars and noticed that some big baby birds were having trouble getting out of the narrow opening that is in our Purple Martin house  Those narrow openings are there for a reason...to keep out big birds like starlings!

After the baby starlings flew the coop - I check the damage

The last couple of years we've had a Sparrow Problem with those aggressive, killer, non-native birds nesting in our Purple Martin house.  I lost count of the number of time I tore out their nests and threw their brown speckled eggs in the adjoining cornfield.  Oh I know, I know.  How could I be so cruel?  I didn't always used to be this way but after a few dead blue birds and swallows, my view of the "cute" sparrow changed.  This year we didn't have any problem with the sparrows.  Apparently the world got out in Sparrow Land that they weren't welcomed here.

I begin the clean out - what a mess!

So this year I thought we were all find and dandy in our backyard habitat with one nesting of baby bluebirds already raised and out in the world.  The bluebirds have second set of blue bluebird  in another bluebird house, the swallows having taken over the original bluebird house.

Oh yeah, I'm loving this!

We have seen many new Purple Martins leave their apartment nest in the Purple Martin house but Bill's sighting a few days ago caused him some concern.  When we did determine that it was indeed starlings in the nest we were wondering how they were going to get out of that small opening.  The past couple of days it seemed like they were stuck.

So we decided this morning to lower the Purple Martin house and see what was going on.  Oh don't worry, I wasn't going to destroy the young starlings.  Once the birds hatch (sparrows included), I leave them alone.  I don't kill live birds although that's probably what I should do.  I'm not that hard...yet.

We thought the young starlings were to big to get through the opening.  I decided to open the front of the apartment and see if that was the problem.  Well, much to my surprise when I opened the apartment there were FIVE BABY STARLINGS!  They were crouched in the back of the apartment, on top of one another, terrified.  I looked at them and they looked at me.  Then one....two.....three....and four flew out of the apartment and into the open air.  There was one baby starling left.  He/she eyed me then decided to also get the hell out of there before this monster (that would be me) decided to DO SOMETHING.

Five baby starlings in that little apartment.  And what a mess they made of it.  Man oh man, did it stink. That little metal cubby hole was full of straw and bird shit.  I got my handy trowel out and started to scoop out this delightful debris.  WHAT A MESS!  Bill said I was grunting non-stop.  I guess!

While I had the Purple Martin house down I decided to check the other apartments to make sure there were no dead baby birds.  In previous years I have found baby birds that were killed by intruders like the starlings or sparrows attempting to build their nests.

What I found was two apartment with eggs in them.  Two more apartments with young Purple Martins.  And I might add, all the apartments were very neat.  It's interesting but both the starlings and sparrows have very messy nests.  Very messy.  Unlike the Purple Martins, bluebirds and swallows who have very neat nests.  And you know that me, with my anal personality, appreciates a neat apartment.

The Purple Martin house has six apartments.  If you were keeping count, you'll notice that I've accounted for five of those apartments.  I checked the six apartment on the other side of the Purple Martin house.  Uh huh, you guessed it...starlings!  Oh well, they're born and my rule is once they're hatched they become U.S. citizens.   That's the rule in my backyard.

All is well again in Purple Martin House Land  - they all returned home

The Birds of My Backyard

Mama swallow guarding her young yesterday, in my backyard

After breakfast this morning I joined Bill on the back deck to enjoy the early morning breeze and watch the backyard bird activity.  This year we didn't have a problem with the sparrows invading the bluebird house like we did last year.  The bluebirds have already raised one batch of baby bluebirds and are working on the second batch now.  The swallows just hatched their batch (see the above picture "Mom" warning me away from her nestlings).

In previous years I've also had a problem with the sparrows invading the Purple Martin house.  I was very pleased to see that I didn't have that problem this year.  I lost count of the amount of sparrow's nest that I tore out of the Purple Martin house and the number of brown speckled sparrow eggs I tossed into threw into the adjoining cornfield.  I hated to do that but I had no choice.  I draw the line at destroying baby sparrows though.  Once they're hatched, they're free.  I leave them alone.

So I thought I was getting off free this year without the invasion of non-native species of birds.  Ha!  Bill hands me his binoculars and says "Take a look", pointing to the Purple Martin house.  And what did I see? A mama starling feeding her young!  I couldn't believe it.  Starlings are too big to get into the Purple Martin house slots.  This one got in.  Incredible.  Well, there's nothing I can do about it now.  They look like they're about to come out.  I'll check the apartment after they leave.  I wouldn't be surprised if there are dead Purple Martin babies in there.  That's what starlings do you know, they kill the other birds then lay their eggs on top of them.  Same with the sparrows.  I've seen it first hand.

Starlings and sparrows are non-native species of birds that will be discouraged from nesting in my backyard.  It's a constant challenge.  I thought I got away free this year, apparently not.  Well, at least the bluebirds were able to lay two batches of eggs this year, unlike last year when the battle with the sparrows prevented that from happening.

I look at the life in my backyard as a microism of life in general.  Things appear to be going smooth until someone else comes in and takes over, destroying all in its path.  There won't be anymore starlings in that Purple Martin house, I'll see to that.