Thanks for the tips, folks. I ended up doing what Anne suggested: got the metal portal at Wild Birds Unlimited and put it on. I checked and no one has started nesting yet: they've just been checking it out, apparently. This is our first spring with the box, so I'm hoping _someone_ nests in it. Last summer we had a House Wren (very loudly) make a dummy nest in it, but that's it. Come on, chickadees! Anna Keaney Madison, Dane On Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 11:52 AM, Anne Moretti <amoretti@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Anna, > > The easiest thing to do if the hole has been enlarged, is to buy a 1-inch > opening metal portal that can be screwed to the box around the opening. You > should be able to find these (in various sizes) at the Wild Birds Unlimited > store in the Madison/Middleton area. House Sparrows need a 1 1/2 -inch > opening, as do Bluebirds, which is why they are considered such pests. > Whatever you do, don't allow the House Sparrows to nest! They are very > aggressive and will kill other birds if they want the box badly enough. > > Anne Moretti > Dousman > > -----Original Message----- > From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] > On Behalf Of Anna Keaney > Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 9:04 AM > To: WisBirdn > Subject: [wisb] House Sparrow in Chickadee nest box > > We put up a nest box a week or so ago and have seen both chickadees and > House Sparrows going inside it. I'm not sure either in particular has > claimed it yet (although today the sparrow was in it a couple of times). > This box was bought last summer as a chickadee-wren box, but I think our > woodpeckers have widened the hole, drat them. I've been reading different > things saying take the box down entirely, or just replace the panel with > one with a smaller hole, or just check the nest and remove it if it's a > sparrow nest (this is hard to do because the box opens from the bottom, not > top)... I thought I'd ask if anyone had any "best practice" info on this? > Thanks! > Anna Keaney > Madison, Dane > > > #################### > You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding > Network (Wisbirdn). > To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: > //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn > To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: > //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn > Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn > > > > > #################### You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding Network (Wisbirdn). To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn