[bcbirdclub] Re: House Sparrows
- From: "Mathis" <weer@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>, "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2013 00:09:26 -0400
Roger,
So sad. One way to get rid of the house sparrows is to prop the box open for a
couple of days if it has a hinged side. Another way is to put some steel wool
(no detergent) in the opening for a couple of days.
Good luck,
Cecelia Mathis
From: Roger Mayhorn
Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2013 9:55 PM
To: BCBC Listserve
Subject: [bcbirdclub] House Sparrows
For the past few days I have been watching a pair of beautiful Tree Swallows
perching in a tree near one of our bluebird boxes near our driveway. This may
be the same pair that nested there last year. I wondered why they weren't going
into the box. Later I saw a pair of House Sparrows going in and out of the box.
I tried discouraging the House Sparrows because they are very agressive and
will take over the boxes from the Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and other cavity
nesting birds.
This was the pair of swallows this morning.
This evening I checked the nestbox to see if the House Sparrows had tried
rebuilding in the box. This is what I found. The House Sparrows had trapped one
of the Tree Swallows in the nest box and pecked its eyes out. The bird was near
death when I found it.
This is what the culprit looks like. This is a male House Sparrow. The female
is just a plain brown with no black or gray. If you have nest boxes on your
property, you should do everything you can to get rid of the House Sparrows
(also known as English Sparrows). These sparrows are not protected by law
because they are not a native bird of the U.S. They were brought here in the
1840's. They will kill Tree Swallows, Eastern Bluebirds and their young and
other cavity nesters. This is the third time in 3 years that I have lost Tree
Swallows to House Sparrows on different areas of our Bluebird Trail.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
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