"I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free." ~Wendell Berry


Thursday, July 10, 2014

Caught in the Act

I've been monitoring my colony pretty closely and even ran the owl off the perches on Friday, 7/4.  I had to leave for a business trip last Sunday however, so my husband was leaving the radio and porch lights on to try to keep him frightened away.  Upon returning today I pulled the game cards out of my cameras and was quite alarmed to find these two new videos of the owl attacking my Trendsetter.  I've had a lot of fledging going on this week, so I suspect he was after the new fledges that often hang out on these porches at night.  He obviously left empty-clawed but, he's definitely shaking up the tenants of the house.

This one happened early in the evening on 7/7/2014.  You can click on the YouTube icon in the picture and embiggen them for better viewing.

This one happened 2 nights later.

Looks like I'll be staying up late in the evenings until all the martins are gone now.

4 comments:

  1. I am sorry to hear about that persistent owl. I suppose the conservation laws protect him from the sort of justice you mete out to other trespassers. But are you allowed to do anything besides frighten him away? Are your permitted to capture him alive to release him elsewhere?

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    1. Hi Aya, yes, owls are protected. English House Sparrows and European starlings are non-native and therefore not protected by our laws.
      No, I couldn't even live-capture him and release him elsewhere. My only option is to try to deter him and make it so that he cannot capture any prey out of my housing. Apparently, he thought the new fledglings on the porches would make an easy meal, but it looks like they all escaped.
      Now, I just need to make it more difficult for him to grab on and scare them out.

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  2. You are a brave, bold, and fabulous landlady.

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    1. Thank you Julie for your comment! I love this job!

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