Hey Keith, You are right, they are the same thing. I use the terms interchangably. You can make your own or buy them already made. I get mine from www.sparrowtraps.net and have also bought a sparrow trap from them. I buy enough mounting brackets to go on each of my boxes, putting the mounting bracket on as soon as I make a house. I then add the spooker as soon as the first egg is laid. I have never had a blue bird not accept a spooker, nor have I ever had a sparrow try to claim a box after a spooker has been added. I had two spookers from last year and I bought 4 more this year thinking that six would be enough. However, I now have 10 boxes with blue birds and three with tree sparrows. I need to order (or make) seven or eight more to make sure I am covered. Phil

Mac, I know what you mean by saying that you are concerned about the safety of your chicks with a hawk in your yard.I have the same situation.Every time I see him on a tree looking at my bird feder,I rush out there and clap really loud until he leaves.I throw stones at him to scare him.If you are regular at this, he will eventually leave and go elsewhere.My babies are 14 days old.I am fearful for them. michelle

Lisa - thanks for the play-by-play. Your little Hussy sounds like such a character! Congrats on the five new blues!

The last couple years I had Bluebirds nesting in snags in the back yard (both snags have since fallen over). I cut way down on the food in the feeders, which I usually do anyway in the summer, because I didn't want to attract House Sparrows. Would put out a little BOSS, but only put out the home-made suet nuggets if the Bluebirds wanted some. This Spring, I had a pair of Baltimore Orioles nesting in a large Pin Oak right above the feeders. Did the same thing, cut down on the food in the feeders, because the Orioles were very territorial about the tree. They were especially aggressive towards Blue Jays, Grackles, and Crows so I stopped throwing any tidbits on the ground (like old corn chips, which the Jays and Crows like). So I would favor the security of the nesting birds. During the summer and fall, there are normally abundant natural sources of food, so feeders are not critical. Birds eat a lot of insects and feed their young insects, so they are unlikely to starve if you aren't feeding them.