Rachel, A quick pull on their neck and they are done for. House Sparrows do not belong here at all and they are not humane at all when they raid the nest box of a pair of Bluebirds. They grab the skull of the female most often as she tries to defend her nest inside the cavity. Then they slowly pinch and pinch until the female Bluebird is dead. I have even see where they have built their nest over the dead body of the female Bluebird and her eggs. Because of this I feel no pity at all for them and no it is not their fault they are here but that is no reason to tolerate them in any fashion. Once you trap and destroy these no good birds for a few seasons you start noticing how many more native American birds are starting to show up at your feeders and that is a wonderful thing. Getting rid of House Sparrows and Starlings helps all native birds not just the bluebird and because of my trapping and killing them native birds of all kinds are very common here...Mike

Hmmm, it doesn't appear that I can edit my message, but pictures are below: 3 days old: 8 days old 11 days: 13 days: Mom: Dad: Both parents working hard: Baby looking out: (sorry it is so blurry) Empty nest:

Hi rober49. I'm no expert, but first you should make sure your houses are in good places. Supposedly they're best situated away from bushes, etc., that sparrows like to sit in. If you do get bluebirds and don't want the babies to get eaten, you should have the houses on poles the right height and I suggest a squirrel baffle on the poles. Still then though other birds can kill the babies. Do you clean your houses out every year? I'm fortunate to have 35 acres of woods and field. I think the bluebirds like to live in the trees. It's fairly inconsistent when we have them around though. They are very gentle birds and I think they are easily driven away by more hostile birds. Good luck to you!

for the last 5 years I've had a single mountain bluebird hanging out. he's definitely way out of his territory. I expect he'll be around until he passes Also-how does one find the gardening topic index these days. the only way I've succeeded is to search a specific topic. EX.: today I searched garden web bluebird forum.