The Lone Male Martin

On the southside of Wabash --town I live in-- there's a subdivision named South Pointe. In the last year, I've noticed a number of the green and white nice-looking but plastic martin houses going up out there. Fearing the worst I thought, "Starling/sparrow heaven!" Sure enough, one of the houses, closest to the highway, has been infested with sparrows.

However, on a recent trek out to the trail, I saw a dark bird gliding across the highway in front of me, headed for the martin house. I thought, "No, it couldn't be." I was able to slow down and look out the window as I was driving. Sure enough, it was a male martin!

On my return home, I looked again to verify. It was. That was about a week and a half ago, and so far, he's still there. The problem is, I'm not sure how to help the guy out. I'm not sure if I should, as a complete stranger, walk up to the folks' front door and tell them they actually have a martin on their house and suggest they clear the sparrows out, or what. One of the first times, where something like this is concerned, that I'm at a loss for words, or what to do.

I've thought about approaching them with the "question", "I like your martin house, where did you get it?" And see if they'll show it to me. Then, I could probe them for more information/how much they know about sparrows and martins. Of course, if I should do that, I would leave all of the metal (my piercings: five rings in each ear, one in my nose)out, and would wear a hat to cover my scalplock. Can't cover my facial tattoos though.

Thinking...

Monty

I have a couple of those neighbors with the purple martins houses and sparrows in them...Some people just don't care I guess what bird lives in there...
I printed a handout from the sialis website to give to neighbors about the house sparrow, with my email in it, why am I doing it and so on. I taped it on the side of their mail boxes. I figured: I don't like when people come to my place with their agenda ...putting it on the mailbox is noninvasive..most people have internet and they can look up sialis website....
Only one neighbor with the most manicured garden lowered the house down then closed it down for good. Before they had hay for sparrows to use for nesting and a plastic martin on the top of the house.
I have a dreadful martin house too and it's a sparrow magnet I had house finches raise family in there ...It's hard to take sparrows down with a bb gun on the martin house too high and neighbors close.... My husband calls it a sparrow hotel- he is right ! there is no way we get martins here, neighbor on the back feeds millet- who's eating it ??? sparrows....
One positive from Starlings - they take sparrow eggs and make a mess out of their nests and those houses are perfect feeding ground for them....
The Starlings in return end up in my bird house trap... I guess there is some positive from having Starlings stop by...

That's advocacy at it's finest! Good call on taping it to the outside of the mailbox, unless you are a postal worker it is illegal to go into someone else's mailbox for any reason.

I agree, you have some useful starlings. Never thought I'd say that.

Lol useful starlings, isn't that an oxy moron?