It could be worse. PETA didn't picket your home yet. But don't wear any fur or leather coats.
BlueBars

Right now, I'm not sure...at least they would not be people I know...

Ugh, sorry that happened to you. I do talk about trapping and disposing of HOSP to others but I always make sure I tell whoever I am talking to that it is perfectly legal to do so. I only use the inbox traps however. Would love the ground trap but can never seem to come up with the extra$$ needed to get one.

How did the interview go?

Donna

Diane,
I am sorry you are going through this. I trust that it will all work out. Please keep us posted.
Isn't trespassing a crime? Didn't "someone" have to come onto your property to release the hosp?
Anyway, thanks for what you have been doing to control the hosp population. Your numbers are remarkable. Impressive that you have caught so many, yet sad that the population is such that you have caught so many.
As a fellow Okie, what county are you in? (My apologies if that is not an appropriate question to ask...I'm somewhat new to this "forum" thing.) I am in McClain county in a rural area where, on occasion, I might see 4-5 hosp in the yard.
Good luck in dealing with this issue and again, please keep us posted.
Mac

First of all Diane, I'm very sorry for the difficult experience. BUT I hope your own awareness of the difference your efforts make in helping keep blues and other native birds safe help compensate somewhat.

I too had a similar problem. I have had many questions from people who come on my property (the mail man, the UPS man, friends, neighbors.) I had some close friends let trapped birds go (which is upsetting, because it is more difficult to recapture these birds.) I showed them pictures of headless bluebirds at http://www.sialis.org/hospattacks.htm to help them understand why I was trapping. They still find it difficult to accept, but respect my decision.

Some things I learned (the hard way):

Do not put traps where a passerby can see them, as they probably will not understand what is going on. People have reported birds being released, and traps being stolen or destroyed. To prevent stealing in publicly visible areas, a bicycle lock might work.

I keep my decoys in a nice, big bird cage that I got at the landfill (lots of people throw these out when their pet birds pass away.) It has a little house inside, with perches and food and water. I think some people who see it think the HOSP is a pet.

Ground trapping in public places or commercial establishments is not recommended. The vast majority of people do not understand the threat posed by HOSP. Even if they do, most do not think anything should be done about it. Other people who accept passive controls or removal of nests or eggs will not tolerate live trapping. Even if you educate the owner, their employees, customers or visitors might not understand. It would place them in a difficult position to have to try to explain. Since some of these places may be the equivalent of a HOSP factory, you might choose to try this anyway. If you do:

Either put the traps out after the establishment is closed (with permission of course - I strongly suggest you get it in writing to protect yourself) and retrieve them before they open, or place traps on the flat roofs of buildings (you will need a ladder) or another location where they are not visible to the public. Regularly empty the traps. Of couse ALWAYS leave food and water inside any ground trap.

Use a bicycle lock to chain the trap to a fixed object. Tightly screw shut the door to the trap or put a lock on it also, so well meaning people do not release birds.

If people ask what I do with trapped birds, I tell them the truth - that they are donated to a local raptor recovery center to feed injured owls, hawks, falcons, etc. Some people find this easier to accept, as they recognize it as part of the circle of life. One bluebird monitor suggested that you might tell people that you are doing research for a bluebirding group to see how long it takes HOSP safely live trapped in one location to return to their roosting areas when released in the city (at least 10 miles away). I don't advocate releasing birds in another location, as it just relocates the problem. But it may be better than nothing, and some people argue there are no native birds left in cities anyway because of introduced birds like HOSP, starlings and pigeons. Relocating birds without a permit is illegal in some states like MA or CT.

Leave a laminated copy of information (like the Advisory on HOSP on my website) cable-tied to the trap explaining that the non-native House Sparrows are being trapped to prevent them from killing native birds like bluebirds.
Give copies of the commercial establishment advisory to the owners, with copies for employees. Ask the owner to make it clear to employees/relatives etc. that trapping has been okayed, and that they should leave the trap alone or contact you if there is a problem (like a native bird trapped) so you can walk them through it or handle it yourself.

If you euthanize House Sparrows, don't do it in public, and don't talk about it. It can be too upsetting to people, especially if don't understand what you are doing and why. Instead, put the captured bird in a mesh bag, wrapped tightly so the bird does not struggle, or put it in a bird cage in your vehicle to deal with it later.

Here is a link that might be useful: Active and Passive House Sparrow Management

Oh - one other thing - it's a good idea to let your local animal control officer, and your state wildlife management agency know that you trap House Sparrows to protect native birds, and handle them humanely, in case they ever get complaints.

Diane, I'm very sorry that you have to go through this. You were caught red-handed while doing something helpful :)

The good thing is that there is a 0.01 percent chance that you'll get penalized or in any kind of trouble once you explain what you were doing. And even though that woman reported you, it doesn't make her ignorant... she just simply isn't familiar with birding and the things that you have to do in order to protect the native bird species.

Good luck,

~David

I did have the trap hidden from the road, and you would have to come up on my front porch and you can only see 1/2 of it from my front door and just the end or it anyway...I always try to be sensitive to those who don't agree with me. When I called the sheriff today, he said he had enough information to finish his report and not to worry. I was not going to end up with a report or get arrested. I told him I appreciated the time he spent researching the Migratory ACt as well as calming me down and his advice. It was obvious he did not thing I did anything wrong by his conversation.

I wrote a letter this morning to my friend's mother in a "it doesn't matter whether you called the cops or not" but here is what I am concerned about. Why you didn't come just talk to me, our sons our friends and I want them to still be friends and I also explained about my insane love for birds and that I just "relocate" the birds. That is all she needs to know. I told her I wasn't angry, just sad after all I had done for birds to be accused of such a thing...I never a acted angry, never accused her of making the call, and gently explained the migratory birds act and that was about it.. I just desire for our son's kids to continue to be friends...I think if she would have talked to me, she would have understood a little better..

Diane

So sorry you've had to endure this situation. Hopefully your nice letter explaining your efforts and providing her with info, will result in a much better understanding on her part. Good luck and keep us posted.

Sorry to hear about this........amazing isn't it that people are ok with trapping rats and mice on glue traps, thereby treating them inhumanely because they threaten THEM? The same people often don't have any problem with shopping in places like Home Depot that are infested with HOSPs, defecating all over the merchandise and the shoppers and spreading disease. Unbelievable. Somehow feathers make you beyond the level of vermin.

I applaud you and your son's honesty. I am not that brave. I have always feared this sort of thing and felt it wise to hide this part of bluebirding from the general public. I feel it is too much of a conceptual shift for the average person to make unless they have a lot of knowledge of the problem. Most are not willing to stay open-minded long enough to listen to the logic and reason. The only people I have been willing to share with are people who grew up on farms and somehow can think logically about such things. I think most of them have had experiences with having to rid barns of various vermin to protect their livelihood.

I think of it as a culture clash of sorts. It is too bad this woman couldn't level with you, but I guess this is my reason for not leveling with most people. Not surprised.......just sad this had to happen to you.

Doesn't anybody care that she hurt the little boy's feelings by letting him see all that murder? At least I agree with the rest of the people - be discrete, most people are not pleased with what you are doing and they have every right to ask for it's removal from their sight.

Hi Aleksandas - I know many people have very strong feelings about taking the life of any animal under ANY circumstances, and respect that. (Or course, anyone who eats meat or has a leather purse, etc., is indirectly involved in euthanizing animals.)

However, the term "murder" implies killing in a criminal manner, or inhumane or barbarous manner. Under federal law, it is legal to humanely euthanize House Sparrows. They are not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as they are introduced, non-native invasive species who have caused significant ecological and agricultural harm.

I can not emphasize enough that if bluebird landlords chose to control non-native HOSP via euthanasia, it MUST be done in a humane manner. And I know for a fact that almost all of those who do elect to euthanize do NOT relish it in any way shape or form - in fact, they find it terribly difficult and painful.

I agree that it is not advisable to show children (or adults) how a house sparrow is euthanized. It's just too hard to process and understand, especially for those who have not witnessed what can happen inside a nestbox as a result of a House Sparrow attack. However, Diane did NOT do this. She is using a LIVE trap. The birds are not harmed when they go into the trap (unless the HOSP kill each other inside the trap, which sometimes happens, as they can be very aggressive.)

I have heard many accounts of children and adults being devastated by opening up a box to find a headless, bloody female native bird sitting on top of her eggs or dead young. It can be pretty traumatic. But nature is cruel sometimes....

On another note... I heard of a mother who sued Disneyland when her child was "traumatized" during a behind the scenes tour by seeing Mickey Mouse changing out of his costume(the child thought he was real.)

Bet

Here is a link that might be useful: When HOSP attack (warning - graphic photos)

The birds are not harmed when they go into the trap (unless the HOSP kill each other inside the trap, which sometimes happens, as they can be very aggressive.)

I've decided to start trapping HOSP this winter with a repeating trap. I'm really surprised at their behavior once they our trapped. In my case, it becomes like lord of the flies in there. They constantly attack one another and often kill/maim eachother. They will continue to peck at the corpse, after it is dead. They also leave their signature round hole in their victims head. I watch the trap closely to make sure no natives get caught. I do worry sometimes the rukus they make once trapped will generate outside interest.

I have the trap in the backyard so no one has seen it yet. We are in an area where people occassionally cut through our yard, less in the winter. I may try to move it to a less visible spot to limit any problems. I also only trap on the weekends when I'm home and don't really need decoys to get takers. I routinely add millet to it and keep it not set when not actively trapping.

I try to keep no more than one pair of HOSP in the trap, or a couple of females or juveniles. I remove the others as they come in. I think crowded conditions and the close quarters can heighten their natural agression.

Do you find that generally it is the males that attack inside the trap? Sometimes I get a PARTICULARLY bloodthirsty one....

Actually I prefer to keep my HOSP decoys in a bird cage (with a roof, food and water and a little craftstore birdhouse)right next to or under the trap so they can not harm each other or natives that might get caught before I have a chance to remove them.

In my observations, the females seem to be almost as bad as the males. The only thing I've noticed is as the stress level increases, so does the violence. If they are overcrowded or have bad weather they get crazy. They seem to have a breakfast, lunch and dinner schedule, so I reduce the trap numbers down to 1 or 2 during the lulls. My overall population numbers are still high, so I don't hassle with decoys. They are still too easy to trap w/o them. I caught my first natives this morning, a pair of finches. When I saw them, the cage was surrounded by HOSP. I was able to release them w/o even touching them, so it was pretty easy. Hopefully, by spring their numbers will be down to manageable levels.

Dmarie, I hope that this situation has worked out okay for you.

I am a long time vegetarian, who prefers not to cause harm to animals or even insects, but in my mind House Sparrows are invasive pests, on par with Oriental Bittersweet or the Lily Leaf Beetle or a rat. People do what they have to to control these non-native and noxious species. I have spent many hours working to control invasive plant species, and even used herbicide concentrate whereas I am an organic gardener in every other respect. I am thankful that there are people out there trapping HOSPs to help our native cavity nesters.

I am curious, is using a pellet gun a feasible method of controlling HOSPs?

People should learn what happened in Autstralia. The Australians tried to keep the invasive HOSP numbers down, but were not aggressive enough. HOSPs have pretty much taken over Australia, drastically reducing the numbers of native birds there.

Now THAT's murder.

Pellet guns can work if you're a great shot and have a scope and are EXPERT at IDing HOSP (from a distance, a chipping sparrow can look a lot like a HOSP at a feeder.) More info at link below. There are also obviously some safety issues.

Here is a link that might be useful: active HOSP control - shooting

And what should we do about humans, the worse invasive species at all, who are actually the cause of the decline of "native" species? Why do we get a free pass, while countless numbers of innocent animals, who are just trying to survive, are blamed and have to pay with their lives?

Good point, as humans are the ones who have intentionally or unintentionally introduced many invasive species. That is why I believe humans also have a responsibility to try to restore some balance to the ecosystem.

There are passive House Sparrow control options available for those who find active control methods (HOSP nest removal, removal of eggs, trapping and/or euthanasia) abhorrent. Unfortunately, with the exception of Sparrow Spookers (which can only be used after the first bluebird egg is laid and are removed after fledging), most are not very effective.

Wing trimming is an option for those who do not wish to euthanize trapped birds. It prevents HOSP from breeding in nestboxes for one season, while enabling them to continue foraging. See http://www.sialis.org/wingtrim.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Sparrow spookers