short of trapping....

13 years ago

After my blue's second brood last summer I put up a new house - bad move perhaps but the old one was getting really raggedy and I felt it was letting in too much moisture - they rejected the new house, so I put the old one up next to it, so they would have a choice. I figured I'd close off whichever they reject.

They never really left, I think they raised their last brood high up in my pecan tree (where woodpeckers have nested for decades) But have been really active and visible the past few weeks, visiting the new house, sitting on top quite a bit. This morning however, they were hanging out on the old house, and got chased off by a HOSP who then spent quite a lot of time sitting on top. I went out and chased him off, checked both houses just in case somebody had started a nest (no). My sparrow spooker is ready.

So, short of trapping, do I have other options here? Vigilance?

I'd put suet out for them but it seems to attract starlings, who nest in my giant sycamore too high for me to deal with. (but the blues LOVE the sycamore caterpillars - they beat them to death on my deck)

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Comments (14)

lisa11310
13 years ago
I shoot them when they are sitting on the top of the box. Not fun but it has to be done. :(
kendra2003
13 years ago
Once the house sparrows claim a box, they simply will not give it up. It is a horrible task, but I don't see any options besides trapping, shooting, or closing off the box.
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catlady, i feel your pain.. i cry at the sight of roadkill and then bless myself and say a little prayer for the animal and that it be in heaven.. I'm very sensative like you.. I've only caught and disposed of one sparrow so far for the first time a few weeks ago. what i did b4 disposing of the sparrow is went on sialas website and looked at the poor birds the sparrows decapitated and mutilated... then i just went on out and got him out of the cage.. grabbed him out of the cage with a plastic bag.. put him in a cloth drawstring bag.. and did a windmill motion and hit against a cement wall.. He died instantly and did not suffer at all.. and i must say it wasn't as horrid as i thought it would be.. once i did and new that he did not suffer, it wasn't as bad as i built it up to be.. don't worry about shooting him.. it's dang near impossible to get the little bugger.. they are very smart birds and i swear they can hear a pin drop a mile away.. good luck and remember what you're doing is not only right but it's a humane act in saving and preserving the blues we love... just keep looking at the pics and you'll build your courage up...
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bandjzmom
13 years ago
Betty, I agree with Lisa and Kendra. They are so tenacious, that once they claim a box, it is pure heck to get them off it. If I had a gun and could shoot, I would shoot them. I do own a repeating sparrow trap, but I have had only minimal success with it. Right now, I have 3 nestboxes closed off because of this issue. It breaks my heart to see the Bluebirds come in to one of my closed boxes, but I know that it's the only way I am going to get rid of the HOSP's.
lisa11310
13 years ago
Bandjzmom, Van Ert traps work well and are just a couple $. You can get the info at www.sialis.org. He will send them out to you the next day. You just have to be SURE you only use them when you are home and can check the box every few minutes. You also have to be 100% sure what you have trapped. It's better than turning the Blues away.
bandjzmom
13 years ago
Thanks Lisa, but I don't believe that trap will work on my primary BB box. Mine is a Sawyer log box, so it's round. You can see the box here, and mine looks like the ones pictured on the front page of the site but without any perches. (http://www.bluebirdhousing.com/) I have another box in the front yard that would it would probably work in though.~~Angie
kendra2003
13 years ago
If you need a trap to fit in a round box, this universal trap should do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Universal Trap
bandjzmom
13 years ago
COOL!! Thanks Kendra!! I have never seen that trap. I think that I will be needing one of those little jewels asap!!
bettycbowen
Original Author
13 years ago
I'm right in town so shooting isn't an option, wouldn't mind it at all if we were in the country. And it isn't the trapping I mind, its the next part.

I think I will take them down for awhile, since it is early for bluebirds anyway, and put them back up the first of March and see what happens.

Thanks!
lisa11310
13 years ago
Yes Betty, I know and I cry,shake,throw up...it's horrid. It's just so NOT ME. I dont hunt, fish or have anything to do with killing things (except big ugly spiders in my house). I hate, hate, hate it. I have no choice. :(
kendra2003
13 years ago
Betty, some people that can't bare to do what comes next trim the HOSP's wings instead. I've never tried it myself, as I'm afraid of handling them. There's a link on the Sialis site that tells how to go about it. Just another option.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wing trimming
bandjzmom
13 years ago
Drowning is quick and a bit less traumatic for the perpetrator. There is also an easier demise via ether. You just have to remind yourself of the beautfiul Bluebird eggs with holes pecked into them and the senselessly murdered mother Bluebirds and chicks. I know it's not an easy thing.
bettycbowen
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the kind and compassionate answers. It is a quandry, isn't it?
However, my particular problem has been solved by my friend who accurately & instantly dispatched the HOSP for me. The neighbors didn't mind. This will continue as necessary. As he said, the bluebird war is ON.
ohsoblue77
13 years ago
I know how this is! I had a Hosp take claim of a box in the last week of February in my own backayard when there was still snow on the ground! And I live in Ohio!!!

And also, I checked another site I monitor a mile away and it already has what looks like hosp claimings! (Grass and droppings on the box floor)

I get up early from late February until the Hosp stop coming and trap with my Van Ert. I'm not the most sensitive person in the world but when I see those pics on sialis of what they do to bluebirds...if they get trapped in my boxes...the drawstring bag comes out and down they go!!!!!
kendra2003
13 years ago
You're so lucky Betty. I wish I had someone to dispatch the HOSP for me. I find it so distasteful, but I keep telling myself, "You are saving the Bluebirds". Right now I'm being overrun with HOSP. I sure don't want them here in the spring. I bought a repeating ground trap, and it is set out with bait with the elevator held in place. I'm hoping they will get used to its presence and maybe it will work. If not, the inbox traps will have to do. I currently have the entrances to my nest boxes blocked off so the HOSP don't know they are there.

short of trapping....

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short of trapping....

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