Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 08:48:30 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Greg Downing Subject: Re: House sparrows MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thank you all for you help with this crisis of mine! I live in a rural area and only have one pair of house sparrows (as far as I know). But not for long if I can help it. I love birds and feel sick about hurting or destroying any of them. But I suppose there is no choice and I just have to tell myself that I am saving many others in the process. One more question though: I know I need to get rid of the male. Is it normal for the male to roost in the box at night? I know I can get the female while she's incubating in the box, but the male in another story. If I was to dispose of the female and the eggs and nest would the male then build another nest if there were no females around. Or would he retaliate in any way? Thanks again! Greg Downing Parkton, MD gregdowning@mindspring.com www.gdphotography.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lovelace, Glen" To: Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 8:34 AM Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] House sparrows > Hello, > I have a trail of 13 bluebird boxes (9 on my grandfather's farm, 3 > around a nearby cemetery and 1 at my house). I had an ongoing battle with > House Sparrows in the boxes that were closest to the buildings where there > is, unfortunately, a large population. I tried ejecting them, they would > come back and I would resort to leaving the box open for the season. If the > bluebirds couldn't have it, then nobody would. The House Sparrows never > seemed to bother the boxes that were further away, so those bluebirds and > Tree Swallows were successful. But that left me at half of my boxes being > used. > My solution was to modify my box design to include a 1 & 1/2" hole > in the roof with a layer of ratwire under it to protect from predators. The > hole mimics a natural cavity in the top of a rotted out snag or fencepost. > Bluebirds and Tree Swallows freely use this design. On the other hand, the > House Sparrows are discouraged because of the extra hole. They want an > enclosed space with only one entry hole. This has cut down on my House > Sparrow problems by 75%. It also led to 100% occupancy one year (10 boxes > at the time) and the next year the bluebirds and tree swallows competed so > much that I added boxes. On the negative side, it does let more rain in but > this only seems to be a problem if it is cold and rainy when the bluebirds > start nesting. It did not seem to decrease nesting success during last > year's wet summer. The other problem that leads to is that the boxes > deteriorate faster and I will need the replace several next year. > > Good Birding, > Glen Lovelace III > Seaford, DE > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Carol Jelich [SMTP:jrj_csj@MINDSPRING.COM] > > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 7:08 AM > > To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM > > Subject: [MDOSPREY] House sparrows > > > > Regarding house sparrows, I recently attended a lecture by wildlife > > biologist Andi Pupke of Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, a nonprofit > > organization on the Eastern Shore that works to restore native habitats > > for > > wildlife. She stated emphatically that since the goal is restoration of > > bluebirds population, the ethical thing to do about house sparrows is > > either > > to trap and kill them (a nonprotected species, as earlier pointed out), or > > to forego the bluebird boxes. Also houses should be monitored during > > nesting season weekly for evidence of sparrows. It is (federally) legal > > to > > handle the house sparrows and their eggs but not legal to handle the eggs > > of > > protected species such as bluebirds without permits. > > > > I will share suggested lethal means off line with anyone who emails me > > privately as I don't want to offend anyone. Personally I don't think I > > could do it. > > > > Carol Jelich > > Annapolis, Maryland > > > >