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'Caging' a feeder

chickadeemelrose

17 years ago

I mentioned in an earlier post that sparrows are taking over my feeding area. Not only that, grackles and starlings started showing up and it was not pretty. There was a lot of infighting among the sparrows, and altogether the birds made a huge mess. I have ordered two magic halos but thought I would try the following experiment (which I read of somewhere) in the meantime:

I am "caging" my feeder with chickenwire with holes small enough to let in the smaller songbirds and keep out the sparrows.

At first the sparrows were totally flummoxed by the whole thing. A chickadee seemed to love it, hung around more than any chickadees have. The finches got in and loved it as well. Then a sparrow flew over and started watching the finches and caught on. So when I came to check on the feeder I had 4 sparrows in there! So...I went out and crimped the fencing holes to be smaller.

Any similar experiences?

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Comments (4)

rachel_frome_ky
17 years ago
Seems like that should work-of course, only very small birds could get in, but you may have done it!

Those House Sparrows are SMART. And charming, I might add, despite their aggressive tactics against native cavity nesters. Despite my bloodthirsty comments about them, when DB and I were eating lunch in front of the Lexington library a couple of yrs ago 5 HOSPs landed in front of us and looked at us expectantly. The next thing you know we both had given them the rest of our lunch and five birds flew off holding onto the same hunk of freshly baked bread while trying to yank it away from each other in mid-air. We laughed so hard we nearly choked. I turned to DB and sheepishly commented that they could play me as effortlessly as they do the rest of the population
chickadeemelrose
Original Author
17 years ago
Well, I am surprised so far...only a few sparrows have made it into "the fortress" (LOL) and they haven't stayed long; I think maybe there isn't enough room for them to move around once they are inside. They have a few seeds and leave, while the house finches, chickadees and tufted titmice seem comfortable climbing in and staying as long as they need to.

This is such an improvement over the other day, when the sparrows were swarming all over the feeder, pushing each other off and prohibiting other birds from the feeder.
I can take a few sparrows a day - so this is a good solution for me!
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rachel_frome_ky
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If you have managed to solve the House Sparrow-feeder-takeover problem, your name will go down in history!
Now, if only you could solve the birdhouse/nesting cavity take-overs
chickadeemelrose
Original Author
17 years ago
Well Rachel, here I am, back a little wiser and a little chagrined. I walked to my window today only to see four sparrows crowded in my chickenwire-wrapped feeder! You are right, they ARE smart.

So... I went out and made all of the larger holes smaller (pinched and wired them, very carefully). Back in the house I go and watch, and the house sparrows flap around and hang from the outside, confounded. A chickadee flies in, gets some seed, flies out, with the sparrows watching.

Then one of the sparrows goes around the feeder and zips inside the cage. Then I am the one who is confounded!

And to add insult to injury, a sparrow was eating nyjer seed out of the finch feeder!

Of course I am a bit discouraged by this, (the cloud of sparrows flying out of my tree made me think of Albert Hitchcock's THE BIRDS), but I think what I'll do is take the feeders down and start over, being very stingy and careful with the seed (and only safflower). I will figure this out and I will check back here at the forum for advice.

Thanks for reading my (not uncommon I guess) tale of woe.
I might be down but I'm not out!

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