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Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,787,526 times
Reputation: 7185
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I went home for lunch today, put the little one down for a nap then turned my attention to the dog. Crappy, rainy weather in H-town so I wasn't terribly enthused about going outside with the dog.
When I opened the door, my dog bolted for the corner of the yard and I saw a cat scramble over the fence at the same time. I thought, "You're going to catch that cat one of these days and learn something about the de-clawed variety" and then put it out of my mind. I noticed that two of my martins were perched on the martin house and being very vocal. It was a little unusual but I didn't think anything of it until my dog, reliable and soft-mouthed bird-dog that he is, delivered a shaken and waterlogged but otherwise unharmed fledgling purple martin to my hand. Poor little guy.
I took him inside and gently dried him off in spite of great protest from the parents, then went back outside and lowered the house. The parents left their perches as the house was lowered and hovered overhead, watching me very carefully. I gently encouraged the little guy back into his hole to rejoin his siblings and raised the house again. Parents immediately returned, scrutinized the nest site for a moment, the female eventually went inside and the male left to forage.
I went home for lunch today, put the little one down for a nap then turned my attention to the dog. Crappy, rainy weather in H-town so I wasn't terribly enthused about going outside with the dog.
When I opened the door, my dog bolted for the corner of the yard and I saw a cat scramble over the fence at the same time. I thought, "You're going to catch that cat one of these days and learn something about the de-clawed variety" and then put it out of my mind. I noticed that two of my martins were perched on the martin house and being very vocal. It was a little unusual but I didn't think anything of it until my dog, reliable and soft-mouthed bird-dog that he is, delivered a shaken and waterlogged but otherwise unharmed fledgling purple martin to my hand. Poor little guy.
I took him inside and gently dried him off in spite of great protest from the parents, then went back outside and lowered the house. The parents left their perches as the house was lowered and hovered overhead, watching me very carefully. I gently encouraged the little guy back into his hole to rejoin his siblings and raised the house again. Parents immediately returned, scrutinized the nest site for a moment, the female eventually went inside and the male left to forage.
Good dog.
Very good dog! We have the same weather over here on this side of town. Be glad for your Martins! I just took the dogs out since there was a break in the rain & the mosquitos nearly drained me!
Hmmmm I may be shopping for a martin bird house here pretty quickly!
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,787,526 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by Va-Cat
Very good dog! We have the same weather over here on this side of town. Be glad for your Martins! I just took the dogs out since there was a break in the rain & the mosquitos nearly drained me!
Hmmmm I may be shopping for a martin bird house here pretty quickly!
I worked extremely hard at discouraging sparrows for three seasons before I finally got martins. This is the first clutch of babies on my property and it is an extremely rewarding hobby for me. Most nights at sundown my wife and I go out on the patio, sometimes with a glass of wine, to watch the martins come in to roost. Lots of fun and I love their song.
If you are interested you should check out the Purple Martin Conservation Association website: Purple Martin Conservation Association Lots of good information there for getting started.
Some people go really crazy for this hobby... Some interesting viewing...
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,787,526 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by TomSD
Great story!
I'd be interested in a snapshot of mom & dad sitting in front of their house if you can get it. Just out of curiosity anyway.
Taken with my Motorola Tundra at full zoom... and it's only "dad". I have some more from an actual camera that I need to upload. I'll post them to my "Purple Martin Scouting Report Thread" in the pets forum.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,787,526 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal
I'm highly impressed that the martins accepted the chick back after being handled. Good for your dog, good for you, and good for the martins!
My experience has been that the old wisdom about mother birds not accepting their babies after they've been handled by humans to be mostly, if not entirely, myth. Evidently they do not have a problem with dog slobber either.
My experience has been that the old wisdom about mother birds not accepting their babies after they've been handled by humans to be mostly, if not entirely, myth. Evidently they do not have a problem with dog slobber either.
man, i sure hope not..... i rescued 2 fledgling robins from bailey and dave early wednesday morning..... put one over the fence into the neighbor's yard.... figured that would buy it enough time to get flying...... the other had wedged itself into a tight little space next to my foundation and was gone when we got back from our walk......
Great story! So glad you and your wonderful dog were there to get the baby back to its parents.
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