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I checked a new wood duck house that I just placed a few weeks ago around my pond. I noticed a number of feathers on the top of it and on the ground around it.

I opened it to find 8 dead purple martins inside of it, relatively freshly killed.

The house is mounted on a tree, but I can't think of a mammal that would efficiently catch that many martins and bring them inside. Puzzling.

Is there a type of smallish owl or other bird of prey that would take them inside a wood duck house?

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That's very interesting. Does the wood duck house have a snake/animal guard?


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That one does not.

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weasel? set up a game camera


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Originally Posted By: fishm_n
weasel? set up a game camera


Weasel is a good guess. What else would kill em all without eating them?


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Mink is a possibility too.


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Good idea. I'll set up a camera this weekend.

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If its a weasel you can catch it with a victor rat trap, the big wooden snap kind. Staple it or fasten it to the tree. Use the kind with a yellow bait pan, tie chicken liver to bait pan. Set trap under the wood duck box with bait down and snap up. Cover trap with something to prevent birds like bluejays from getting caught.


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The real question is how in the heck did a land animal get them? They must have been grouped up in there overnight. I would bet they were killed by some environmental factor since if a critter got in there, many would have escaped. I have to give it more thought... odd. Game cam for sure.

Another possibility is there were simple too many crammed in there, and the ones on the bottom suffocated.

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Game cam has shown nothing and to date, no more have found their way to the wood duck house of horrors....

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Owls will kill other birds seen one kill a Killdeer on the edge of my driveway last year while it was sitting on a nest.. This owl sits on my light post religiously and I just happen to be sitting out side when he swooped down I thought cool he's gonna get something then I hear Killdeer squalid next day sure enough Killdeer carnage didn't even eat it just killed it.. The light post is about 100 yrs from my house..


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Light post is 100 light years from your house? That's one territorial owl!

grin

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 06/02/14 04:41 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Sorry meant yds.. yards lol good eye Cecil


I believe in catch and release. I catch then release to the grease..

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