[obol] House Sparrows

[Dan Gleason]

Molly,

Less than a minute before your post came in, I had just sent a  
response to a friend concerning this very issue. She has House  
Sparrows destroying her swallow nests as well. This is an ongoing  
problem wherever sparrows and swallows coexist. I wish there was a  
good answer but I don't know of an easy fix. Below is the message I  
just sent:

--
House Sparrows seem to be destructive even if empty cavities are  
available. As in many wrens, this destructive nature is a way of  
helping to maximize opportunities for their own young, but it  
frustrating for those of us who would like to encourage our native  
cavity-nesters. I have been told that a horizontal slot will be  
avoided by House Sparrows but I have never tried this and don't know  
if it is true. It may work but they certainly will use openings under  
eaves or other places that do not have round holes, so I have some  
doubts. The two recommendations that are most often given are to use  
deep boxes, as sparrows prefer shallower cavities, and have the hole  
angled to face slightly downward instead of vertical. House Sparrows  
are less likely to enter such a hole. However, when these  
recommendations are given, so is the caution that this only works for  
some House Sparrows and only some of the time. As of yet, no one has  
devised a box that will discourage them most of the time. Such a  
device will become very popular with people who wish to encourage  
swallows.

One other note about egg destruction in swallows. Sometimes, for  
reasons not understood, the swallows will destroy the nests  
themselves. It is possible that another pair is attempting to take  
over but often, it seems to be the parent bird destroying its own  
nest. Which is really true, I don't know and no one knows why this  
occurs. Overheating can also kill young or eggs and maybe the parent  
is trying to eject these eggs. It is also possible that the heat in  
the box may affect the brain of a bird inside, initiating bizarre  
behavior. Just wild guessing here as no one really knows. The two  
White-tailed Kites at Cascades Raptor Center were exposed to very  
high heat just prior to fledging. Some of the nest-mates died and the  
two birds at the center were saved but seem to have some brain damage  
and cannot be released. Kites are very difficult to keep at rehab  
centers but these birds are very cooperative. They believe the brain  
damage has played a role in their docile behavior.

Dan Gleason
-------------
Dan Gleason
dan-gleason at comcast.net
541 345-0450


On Jun 4, 2007, at 9:04 AM, Molly Monroe wrote:

> After a losing battle with the house sparrows in our neighborhood  
> this last week (the female managed to squirm into the narrow holed  
> swallow box and killed the violet green female sitting on five  
> eggs!), I was so saddened but not completely surprised to see house  
> sparrows on the Greens Bridge near Jefferson taking over the cliff  
> swallow's mud nests. What varmints these little birds are! We have  
> been trapping in a normal holed box but tree swallows moved into  
> that one leaving the more vulnerable violet greens to try to defend  
> their narrow holed swallow boxes. Any other hints on how to  
> eradicate them from my yard would be appreciated. I'm afraid we're  
> just not going to be able to have nest boxes out next year if they  
> keep this up. Molly~
>
> _
>
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