whwo, if I could thank you with money, you'd be a very rich person. I don't think my new white proso millet mix is going to be discovered until the snow covers the ground. My BOSS is still the most popular, but I've thrown the mix on the ground all over. Right now it is still very green (but getting colder) here in SE Michigan. Thank you so, so much!

Just out of PURE curiosity, why do you want to attract sparrows when most people are trying to avoid them or even kill them??

It is only the House Sparrows that can be hogs. Many other sparrows (see whwo's list above) are very welcome.

tj

Really, there is no way to completely deter House Sparrows from an area you want to feed birds unless you are lucky enough to live in the few habitats where House Sparrows aren't. I've tried only feeding Black-oil Sunflower, and they still eat a lot of it but mostly dump it on the ground, quickly emptying feeders. There are magic halos and other kinds of contraptions, but in most cases House Sparrows learn to get around them. I even saw a House Sparrow the other day hanging upside down feeding on nyger seed from my finch feeder that has the holes underneath the perches where only "finches are capable of feeding from". Avoiding feeding smaller seeds like millet doesn't attract other native sparrows, which don't seem to feed on sunflower seed as much (in my opinion, but everyone's experiences are different). So, I put up with the House Sparrows in favor of seeing the many beautiful native sparrows we have. Luckily, in my yard, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks take a lot more House Sparrows than they do native songbirds (with the exception of House Finches which I also get a lot of). So, think them as good food for the hawks. :-)

whwo, you are a wealth of information. Claire in Mass. was right about your being one of the few bird experts she trusts. I'm not going to waste any more time trying to eliminate the HS from my yard. I love the native American sparrows too much.

Thank you, Pat and Claire. :-)

When I lived in Colorado, we were fortunate over the years to only see a couple HOSPs at our feeders. I fed A LOT of white proso millet and would have hoards of juncos, several spotted towhees, white cowned, and song sparrows were common and every now and then a Harris' sparrow would show up, too.

Where I live now in Arizona is a agricultural/suburban "interface" you could call it and my entire neighborhood is crawling with HOSPs and Eurasian collard doves. I pretty much stick to nyjer, suet, and a hummingbird feeder (which the Gila woodpeckers use morw tha. The Anna's hummers I get in the winter). I put out BOSS about once a week and the pigeons and HOSPs come in droves, but I still see a few mourning doves (once I had several Inca doves come and hang out for a little bit), white crowned sparrows, and today I had an Abert's towhee, though he didn't stick around very long.

I do miss being able to feed millet, the many native sparrows are among my favorite species.

Zach, I'm so glad you joined the conversation and are still at this forum. I'll bet you really miss Colorado.

Yeah, I have been a little "out of touch" with the move and getting settled in and everything, but now I'm back!

I don't miss the cold weather, or Denver (easily the WORST part of the entire state) but I am a Colorado boy at heart, there's no doubt about it. I also miss the Fish and Wildlife Service. I took a job down here with the National Parks Service because it wasn't seasonal, but I'm not sure if NPS is my cup of tea really. Maybe I just haven't been here long enough. We had a saying when I was enlisted that the best place in the Army is the last place you were.

All in all though, the desert is spectacular. Its gorgeous and interesting and unique and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to experience it. It's still new and exciting, but I don't know if the novelty will last in the long term. I'm pretty much a gypsy anyhow though.

Oh and the avian species here are astounding. I'm not close by, but theres a place in the SE part of the state called the "Madrean Sky Islands" where mountains rise up out of the landscape and cover ecozones from the desert floor all the way to alpine peaks. Its considered one of the most ecologically diverse locations in the entire continent and there are bird species, such as five striped sparrows and elegant trogons (and even a couple jaguars), that are found nowhere else north of the international border with Mexico.

Oh look at me rambling on and on.... I promise I don't mean to do that...

Yes, southeast Arizona is a birder's paradise, especially Whitewater Draw east of Tombstone. It's my favorite place after the Santa Rita Mountains and Saguaro National Park for migrating birds.

I have been looking into going down to Whitewater Draw for the cranes this winter. I have seen them during their migration at Monte Vista NWR in the San Luis Valley and it was incredible. Too bad the Draw is almost 4 hours away, it's hard to muster the motivation to drive that far haha.