tfisher@NPIRS.Purdue.EDU (Tom Fisher) (04/18/91)
We have a pair of nesting Bluebirds. We also have many House Sparrows (Weaver Finches) around. Both varieties compete for the same nesting places. We spend a lot of time "helping" the Bluebirds by destroying the Sparrows nests. However, my wife and I both work and therefore, we can't be around all the time. Last year, I came home one day and found that the Sparrows had built a nest over the top of the Bluebird nest (and the Bluebird nest had eggs in it). I got rid of the Sparrow nest and the Bluebirds came back seemingly unperturbed. Can anyone offer some ideas on how to discourage or get rid of the Sparrows? Some people I know of shoot them, but that's not practical in our case (we live near a school). Would appreciate some comment. -- ============================================================================== Tom Fisher tfisher@npirs.purdue.edu | "...if by chance we find each Phone (317) 494-6616 | other, it is beautiful." - F. Perls
bruce@hpcvra.cv.hp.com. (Bruce Stephens) (04/19/91)
How big is the hole in your nest box? I don't know what specied of bluebird you are seeing, but having the hole no larger than 1 3/8" diameter may be enough to exclude house sparrows and still admit bluebirds. -- Bruce Stephens bruce@hp-pcd.cv.hp.com
rmura@world.std.com (Ron Mura) (04/20/91)
In article <1991Apr18.150026.18512@NPIRS.Purdue.EDU> tfisher@NPIRS.Purdue.EDU (Tom Fisher) writes: > > We have a pair of nesting Bluebirds. We also have many House > Sparrows (Weaver Finches) around. Both varieties compete for the > same nesting places. We spend a lot of time "helping" the > Bluebirds by destroying the Sparrows nests. However, my wife and > I both work and therefore, we can't be around all the time. Last > year, I came home one day and found that the Sparrows had built a > nest over the top of the Bluebird nest (and the Bluebird nest had > eggs in it). I got rid of the Sparrow nest and the Bluebirds > came back seemingly unperturbed. I know what you're going through. We had house sparrows attack tree swallow young one year. I ended up doing constant watching of the nest and chasing the house sparrows away during daylight hours (5 a.m. to 9 p.m.) for the few days until they fledged. (Five made it but one whose wing was damaged couldn't fly and eventually die.) I think the best appoach is to destory the sparrow nests as they make them. They eventually quit and move on, at least for a while. I would never kill the sparrows; they're as much a part of nature as the bluebirds and it's only through man's values that they become a "problem." I once caught a pair of house sparrows and moved them to a park where there were many others four miles away, which saved that year's brood, but it's a practice that is discouraged by wildlife specialists. I suppose if it got bad at a critical time you could catch them and keep them in a temporary aviary until the young fledge. (This would be illegal, I believe, for all species except a few like house sparrow that were originally introduced from elsewhere.) I don't think changing the hole size will help, and any such change might cause the adults to abandon a nest they have already started. Another thing I've heard twice (but never confirmed) is that bluebirds will nest in a box with cracks/openings in the top, while other birds won't. Of course, that might reduce the chances of success too. -- - Ron Mura, Natick, Massachusetts rmura@world.std.com