House Question

15 years ago

We moved to a new area last year and over the winter I put up a box with an entrance hole 1 1/8" basically to lure the BCC in the yard since the neighbor has 5-6 houses full of sparrows. Already this year she has 2 houses with baby sparrows in them. Well today I noticed a pair of Eastern Bluebirds sitting on my box all afternoon. I would like to encourage them to nest by enlarging the entrance hole, but is this a death sentence with all the sparrows around? Is there any baffle/guard avaialble that limits sparrows from using the box. I will not enlarge the hole for Bluebirds unless I can do so without them being invaded by sparrows. Any suggestions would be appreciated Thanks

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Comments (2)

lisa11310
15 years ago
Timmer, thanks for coming here with questions first. Go to the www.sialis.org web site and read up on how to control HOSPs. If you are willing to put up a trap box and start eliminating them, you may be able to get a successful Blue nesting using a spooker and trapping. Give the salis sight to your neighbor too show how detrimental these birds are to their other birds. 5-6 houses of HOSPs and as many times as they can nest per year is a scary thing, your going to be overrun! Is there any natural habitat near you for the Blues to nest? If so I would let them go, if not you may be able to provide the best protection. It's a hard call. Let us know what you decide. GOOD LUCK!
bandjzmom
15 years ago
Hey timmer. Wow. How sad that your neighbor is housing the horrible House Sparrows. Can you educate her about them at all? Maybe she doesn't know any better and thinks that she is doing a good thing. Why not just keep your Chickadee box for the Chickadees and go and purchase an inexpensive house for the Bluebirds? Then, you will have boxes for both. Walmart sells a real decent Bluebird box for $10. Like Lisa said, check the sialis site for information about box placement and mounting. Your concerns about the HOSPs are very very valid. They will destroy the Bluebirds, their nests, their eggs, and their young. It may well be that it would just be too hard to protect them in your yard because of the House Sparrows. If you don't want to hassle with constant monitoring and trying to eliminate the HOSPs, then I wouldn't recommend a Bluebird box. You cannot keep the HOSPs out of a Bluebird box. Sparrow Spookers work pretty well, but I have had HOSPs go into a box that had one on it. You decide. You might be setting yourself up for worry and heartbreak.~~Angie

Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis site
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House Question

Comments (2)

lisa11310

bandjzmom

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