Roseunhip; Do you know what a predator guard is? Two years ago when I purchased a wooden birdhouse it wouldn't go up in the trees unless it had an ample predator guard, made from hardware cloth with the edges snipped and sharp threads bent outward. Then attached around the entrance hole of the box. Guard sticks out about 6-7" in length. I didn't want raccoons or outdoor cats climbing the tree and reaching in with their dexterious paws/hands/claws. The predator guard was a little reassurance... Same thing w/squirrel nestboxes. The wildlife center has 'em built w/predator guards, wood piece on the inside of box w/2-3" lip, to deter tree-climbing carni-/omnivores from reaching in. I got the hardware cloth idea and sketch from a book. Was in a pet-supply store on the 19th and a man came in to purchase bird seed. He despised the squirrels and admitted he'd take out his gun to shoot 'em if they dared interfere w/his seed offerings. :\ Oh yes, I know from wildlife conversations that reds are meaner, feisty, and horrendously territorial. Please send a picture of your box after you've got it in place. I love seeing birdboxes in natural settings. Some of the birdhouses and boxes they sell in catalogs and stores make me shake my head... dunno how any bird would feel safe, or homelike, in that creation?! And a note on nestbuilding materials; observed a gray squirrel tearing off chunks of corrugated cardboard from the sturdy carton (box from my foster rabbit housing) on our deck. Off she scurried w/the cardboard pieces in his mouth. Musta needa a new lining for his/her drey. Wish I had the camera at that second. ... We won't be so quick to put the box in the trash!

It's a bird eat bird world out there! Even blue jays will kill others' babies to feed their young. Squirrels can jump into nests, too. I've had it happen. They eat the eggs, the hatchlings, and the adult birds, too. Racoons will climb, jump, and eat (etc.,all) the same! Snakes will even climb walls and eat them, (etc.,all) too. Ravens are big pigs at robbing all sorts of nests, nestlings, eggs, (etc. all) TOO. The hawks use humming bird feeders for snack bars! We have to realize it .. it IS a bird eat bird world out there. Many birds 'just do it' !!! We can never change this natural behavior. too bad! It makes ya' sick, but what are ya' gonna' do? Nuttin!

in house sparrow trap and do not release the sparrows back into the wild

Hi Cattyles - Like all our non-native pests, they were transported here. Some species by accident; some on purpose. English House Sparrows (HoSP) were introduced from England in the late 1800s by a Shakespearian group that performed plays in NYC's central park. Someone got the wild idea it would be great to have all the birds mentioned in the Bard's plays flying around the park. They imported them and released them in the park. All the species, except two - the European Starling - and the English House sparrows - died out quickly. These two aggressive species took off like wildfire. With the explosion of fast food places and shopping malls toward the late 1950s, the HoSP came into their own. Now every fast food place and big box garden center is literally crawling with them. Pink Mountain - I don't want to sound contrary, but my chickadees nest in a wooden box, set on a metal pole, 5' from my neighbor's busy garage. While it's not ideal, it is for them because of the safety. I keep clean bird houses and have illuminated the house sparrows in this little corner of town. They, like all cavity nesters, would prefer an old dead tree full of abandoned woodpecker holes, but that's not always possible. I wanted to bring one in, too, but there's just not room. HoSPs will nest anywhere, in bird houses, drain pipes, under roof eaves, trees, any sort of place at all. They will enter a cavity nesters "home" (they wrecked havoc on the woodpecker population, too) smash eggs or kill the young and pull their nesting material in right over the bodies. This picture doesn't show the birds, but this garage is on our property line. I have the bird house about 5' away from it. The neighbors are siding their garage, while a tree swallow is in the nest incubating her eggs. This is the box the chickadees use in the early spring. I've had a pair checking it out all week right now. After they leave the tree swallows arrive and take over. About 40 feet to the left I have another nest box attached to their privacy fence. It alternates each year between wrens or more tree swallows.