In the past few years, I’ve seen a big increase in the number of bluebird nesting boxes. My guess is that most people erect these bird dwellings in the hope of attracting the beautiful Eastern Bluebird. Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina chickadees and Tree Swallows, which will help put a dent in the flying insect population, are also desirable tenants.
It’s encouraging to see more birdhouses out there. But it turns out that a large number of these new nest boxes are being used by House Sparrows – the worst kind of troublemakers.
The House Sparrow, Passer domesticus (also known as the English Sparrow), is actually not a sparrow at all but a weaver finch introduced to this country from Europe in the mid-1800s. The male is easily identified by its black throat and chest, which makes him appear as if he is wearing a bib.
The female is much harder to discern and can easily be confused with fox, song and field sparrows, to name only a few.
Unlike predatory birds such as hawks which are part of the food chain, House Sparrows will work relentlessly to destroy other birds’ eggs and young – for no apparent reason other than their determination to take over the bird world. They do not kill for food.
Also, they are not a ‘protected bird’…by Federal law…it’s unlawful to kill our native songbirds, raptors, etc.
I’ve often come across nesting boxes where House Sparrows killed adult Bluebirds and Tree Swallows as they sat on their eggs. Then they’d begin building a nest right on top of them!
Also have seen fresh laid bluebird eggs, with small holes pecked in each one, by a House Wren, which also fills the bluebird box with twigs to keep any birds out…it’s a territorial thing.
In the past, the English Sparrow preferred urban areas. But sparrow problems have recently been increasing in more rural spots. Nesting boxes may be one reason. Well-intentioned people hoping to attract native cavity-nesting birds may actually be doing greater harm by not monitoring their boxes regularly, allowing House Sparrows to proliferate at an alarming rate.
Along a route I frequent in the Hickory area one house has at least a dozen birdhouses neatly lined up along the driveway. Unfortunately, all of these boxes are occupied by House Sparrows. The people who live there probably believe they are doing a good deed, giving the birds a safe haven to raise their young.
Instead, they have created a House Sparrow factory, much to the detriment of native songbirds.
House Sparrows can easily produce three to five broods per season. As if that is not enough, male sparrows will mate with several females. With three to five eggs in the average clutch, a single pair of house sparrows can quickly become a flock of 15 to 25 birds in one season, at a single nesting site.
Bluebirds usually produce two or three broods per season…you can do the math…the good birds are outnumbered by the bad birds, just by birth rate.
But House Sparrows don’t limit themselves to nesting boxes or natural cavities, as Bluebirds and Tree Swallows do. They can build nests almost anywhere – on light fixtures, building ledges and awnings, under roof eaves, you name it.
Years ago, I attended a program at a local Audubon sanctuary to learn about attracting Bluebirds. The main speaker was the late, great Larry Zelaney, and I recall the utter disgust with which he spoke about House Sparrows he found along his bluebird trail. He would not only remove their nests and destroy their eggs, he said, but if he got his hands on one of the adult sparrows he’d quickly ‘dispose’ of it.
At the time, I thought this seemed a little harsh and wondered if the speaker was a couple of eggs short of a full clutch. I never had a problem with shooting them with a b.b. gun or a .410.
At first I tried to discourage House Sparrows from nesting on my trail by removing their nesting material. But they wouldn’t take the hint. At one location, I soon tired of this chore, so I allowed them to build their nest, then removed the eggs. The following day, I discovered sparrows at a nearby Bluebird nesting box.
There were broken bluebird eggs on the ground, and more broken eggs in the nest. This same scenario occurred a week later at a different location. I couldn’t help but think the sparrows were wreaking this havoc as revenge.
That same season was the very first time my wife and I were lucky enough to have bluebirds nesting at one of two boxes in our yard. Unfortunately, House Sparrows had moved into the other. This time, I decided no to disturb the sparrows for fear of retaliation to the bluebirds. We would notice the sparrows harassing the bluebirds on occasion, but this particular male bluebird was more aggressive than most and seemed capable of defending his territory. We were absolutely thrilled when the bluebird eggs successfully hatched.
The nestlings were about a week old when I happened to see the female sparrow exit the bluebird box. It appeared the male sparrow had been keeping the adult bluebirds busy while the female sparrow sneaked into their box.
To my dismay, I found all five bluebird nestlings had been killed, each with a single beak blow to the head. This was my turning point. There was no logical explanation for this action, as the sparrows had their own undisturbed nest.
The House Sparrow issue needs to be addressed to help deter additional declines in native bird populations. The most passive course of action – other than taking down nesting boxes – is to remove sparrows’ nests and/or eggs in an effort to cut down the population.
People who want to be more aggressive can buy trapping devices at birding or feed stores. Plans for making them can be found on the Internet. You can also visit this site:
http://community-2.webtv.net/hubertrap/HOUSESPARROWCONTROL/
Some traps are designed to be placed inside nesting boxes and will close off the entrance hole after a bird enters. These are nondiscriminatory – meaning that any bird can be trapped by them – and should only be used under close supervision. This type of trap will not harm the bird but if left unattended for more than an hour, desirable birds may enter and then perish from the stress of being trapped.
Live trapping and relocation of sparrows is not recommended, as this will only move the problem to another area.
House Sparrows and Starlings are introduced, non-native species and are not protected by law. Starlings can easily be controlled by simply using 1 1/2” entrance holes, which they cannot fit through. Until a House Sparrow-proof nesting box can be designed that Bluebirds and Tree Swallows will readily accept, the best workable solution appears to be the elimination of the male sparrow, which makes an attachment to the nest site.
This may be difficult for some people to understand until they have had firsthand experience working a Bluebird trail and have seen the destruction caused by House Sparrows.
If you are still uncertain at that point, then for the sake of our native songbirds it may be best to take down the nesting boxes and go back to gardening. If left unmanaged, House Sparrows will undoubtedly win the battles for nesting sites.
Often times I will clean out the sparrow or wren nest…burn it…and put a stick or corn cob in the opening, discouraging the sparrow from attempting a ‘rebuild effort’ for a couple days…sometimes, a bluebird will then take that box, after a week of deterring the sparrow or wren.
When that works, my efforts are rewarded a hundred fold. Please don’t help house the aggressive sparrows…if you want to see them just stop by the local shopping center…they are everywhere in the lights, roof, rafters and shopping cart pavilions.
i liked it better when Holden was in “Local Ink” …not back here,
just sayin’
I took over the Zeleny trail, shortly before his death, 15 years ago. I removed all his boxes. They were on trees and fenceposts and all predated. I quadrupled the # of boxes, put them on tall polls…now almost all with Kingston guards. Today, I will do my usual, which has proven quite successful. I have frozen a few house sparrow eggs. I will warm them to the correct temperature, substitute them for the eggs a current invading house sparrow nests upon, take the substituted eggs for freezing, and repeat this process as necessary. The house sparrow eggs will not hatch and, most often the house sparrow moves on without harming other nesters. If I aggressively remove the eggs or nest, they will destroy my nearby bluebird-occupied boxes. Freezing is not a foolproof method of avoiding house sparrow nesting, but another, often good, option.
Good article. Keep up the good work. Bringing these beautiful birds (and other insectivores) into existence is incredibly rewarding.
bluebirder…well put.. this has been a rough year, house sparrows are under control, but house wrens, with their ‘fake nests’ of twigs and such, keeping all birds out, while their one nest is incubated.
the point is…if you put the box up, you have to maintain it, faithfully…
thanks for replying and adding info…
sth
how many broods does house sparrow produce per season
House Sparrows can produce three to five broods per year…
the problem is..they multiply faster than bluebirds, at the same time occupying the nesting boxes that are for bluebirds but otherwise occupied by the predators…
thanks for the comment
The wrens are, by far, the biggest problem for bluebirds. One thing that has helped me a bit is to remove only the bottom half of a wren nest. This shrinks it down and the wren doesn’t rebuild in, what would have been, the empty box. The wren often remains satisfied with its many 1/2 filled boxes used to attract the female and doesn’t invade more. The bluebird will readily build on top of the smallish wren nest if not used by the wren. I just make sure I remove the lower half of the nest and leave the ‘cup’ formed at the top pretty much as it was built though I will enlarge it a bit with my fingers. This change in cup size is not enough to tick off the wren (so he builds it up more) yet it will not deter the bluebird from building on top of it. It’s a bit of a delicate operation, but it goes quickly and continues to work for me. (This is much harder to do for a top-open only box, which is not common on my trail.)
Now, if I can just create a wren-proof box that bluebirds alone can use…..
o.k. Bluebirder…I’ll try it.
I have a number of nestboxes in my yard. Before I started 4 years ago I did some reading and discovered about the brutal war waged on Tree Swallows and bluebirds by House Sparrows. Though it wasn’t what I had envisioned when I first planned to put up nestboxes, I understand that I needed to “get involved” in this war if I wanted to have bluebirds and Tree Swallows nest in my yard. I have a sparrow trap that I use. This year I haven’t lost a single bluebird or Tree Swallow. 19 Tree Swallows fledged successfully. (My 1 bluebird pair is still nesting.) Also, I’ve trapped and killed over 50 House Sparrows.
yo pstensli…or whatever the code is…it’s still unbroken…
re: you helping the tree swallows…great, beneficial bird for sure…find a person who has a boa, or other reptiles…offer the sparrows to them, if they come get them…the food chain goes on…this is what I used to do with my trapped sparrows, and Spike Updegrove can attest to that…his boa loved the morsels.
just sayin’
Does anyone know where I might find a supplier for frozen english sparrows or starlings? I would be interested in purchasing anywhere from 100 up to several thousand.
Are you still looking for a supplier of House Sparrows? I’m trapping lots of them.
READ THE NAME!Shame on the lot of you you inhumane evil sick minded excuses for people!
When they are taking a s*&t all over your house and causing damage to your home you really have no choice.
you are complete moron. House Sparrows are an introduced invasive species that kills native birds and can bring them to the brink of extinction. You don’t know anything about birding. It doesn’t have anything to do with prettiness in birds. You make me sick. Re up on introduced species you idiot.
No, house sparrows kill just to kill. I live trap them and they will peck each other to death. Song birds are gentle and wanted. House sparrows are not native birds and would kill everything and they would be the only birds left. They kill babies too.
As if the bird was not bad enough with its killing of other birds…. they also systematically destroy young crops.
I have not read many other people reporting this as they are far more concerned with the nesting damage, but I assure you, they are equally destructive to seedlings as well as plants that have large leaves.
I’ve lost 25 okra, 30 soy beans, 6 corn, 5 squash and 1 watermelon seedling in 2 days. They have also shredded the lower leaves of my eggplants and tomato plants.
I actually thought squirrels had gotten to my strawberries, but I was wrong. Squirrels leave nothing behind where as sparrows will eat about half, that way you get to see the berrys you have been waiting to ripen were enjoyed by something else….
Todd
Thank you so much for the info! This situation with HOSP is a major problem. They really have taken over and more (much more) needs to be done to reduce the HOSP and Starling populations. It’s the duty of the federal and state wildlife authorities to protect our native, protected birds and yet I don’t see any efforts by them to do so, that I’m aware of.
However,I’m doing my part. I’ve eliminated over 400 of them within the past year. It’s a daily task with no end in sight. But I keep up the good fight knowing I’m helping our beloved native birds.
Best regards
This was my first year at putting up a chickadee house. First a house sparrow tormented these two birds, but they were determined to nest in my house. Now after several weeks of work, a house wren invaded the house today and removed all of their nesting material. I cannot find any remnants of eggs. But in my opinion, house sparrows and wrens are pieces of crap!
Last year was a bad year had up 3 gilbertson pvc boxes and before I could put up my 1 1/8 hole reducers on them house sparrows killed all 3 female chickadees in my nesting boxes and one of the males and all eggs now thats destruction trapped all involved using the van ert worked great. bought the boxes for bluebirds after seeing them nest in neighboring mail boxes and getting killed.Well bluebirds never even looked at them but the chickadees love them so came to the conclusion that I have way too many hos.sparrows to safely fledge any blue birds so I keep the hole reducers on at all times never take them off and it has not stopped my chickadees from starting nests in them I feel secure that they are safe because the sparrows have tried to get in at her and they can”t then they just move on.now if I can just get this house wren to go somewhere else things would be great I do have the wren guard on the chickadee nest which has 9 day old babies in it who I am also supplying meal worms to because its so cold here in Ohio right now.The wren keeps putting sticks in the empty box so I keep taking half the sticks out in hopes it will keep her busy enough to leave the chickadee nest alone.I am afraid if I plug it then she will try to claim the chickadee box If anyone has any input it would be appreciated!
I see it like this I moved in to a nice place and a bunch of blacks (house sparrows) moved in next door we where nice to them. and than there where more hosp .than they started coming into our house when we were gone. eggs were missing the battle got worse our house kept getting robed we should have shot that first hosp!!!
House Sparrows are brown. I suspect you came from a klan meeting!