How To Keep Sparrows Out Of Bluebird House

The Problem:  House Sparrows impairment or destroy thousands of Tree Swallow, Bluebird, Regal Martin and Chickadee nestings each year.

Many people feel, and we hold, that:

Information technology is better non to have a nest box at all than to have a nest box that raises House Sparrows!

House Sparrow harm to Tree Swallow nestings is a very important event in Tree Eat management, one you may need to deal with. House Sparrows are non native to Due north America. People brought them here from Europe roughly 150 years agone.  There are now over 93,000,000 in North America according to Partners in Flight, and they occur near everywhere people live! And wherever they are found, House Sparrows compete aggressively with our native cavity-nesting birds for nest sites. Sadly, every year House Sparrows kill many thousands of natives, trapping them in their nests and pecking them to expiry.  Just 1 example is the adult Tree Swallow killed past a House Sparrow in the photo below, taken past Joni James in Indiana.

And Firm Sparrow don't just kill adult native birds.  They killed the four nestling Tree Swallows below inside their nest box in Alberta. Photo by Dick Stauffer.

Native birds exercise endeavor to defend their nests but in the end they commonly lose the battle, and sometimes their lives.  Photo below of a House Sparrow (left) and a Tree Swallow (right) by Tom Beattie.

House Sparrow vs Tree Swallow

Click here for an first-class summary of the House Sparrow trouble, written by Kathy Freeze of the Regal Martin Conservation Association.

Yous must be able to identify Business firm Sparrows to prevent House Sparrow impairment to Tree Swallow nestings.

Study the photos to a higher place or check a field guide if you aren't sure what Business firm Sparrows wait like.  Note that males and females appear different, and please retrieve, not all minor brown birds are House Sparrows!

What can be done to finish Business firm Sparrow damage to Tree Swallow nestings?

The best source of information concerning dealing with the House Sparrow problem is the bluebird hobbyist web site Sialis.  Please check its very comprehensive presentation of issues and tactics of House Sparrow control.  We will not try to restate all this cloth.  Instead, we will consider the following two House Sparrow versus Tree Swallow situations:

• How to avoid sparrow devastation of swallow nestings in the FUTURE.
• What to do if sparrows are threatening your consume nests NOW.

IF House Sparrows destroyed By nestings, and you're worried information technology could happen over again IN THE FUTURE:

• CONSIDER RELOCATING YOUR BOXES TO SAFER LOCATIONS!
• The all-time way to avert house sparrow contest is to place swallow boxes far from houses, barns, and other buildings where House Sparrows besiege, at least 100 yards away, preferably much more.
• Don't add more than boxes to "requite everyone a adventure to nest" considering more is non ameliorate!

NO box or entrance design will keep House Sparrows out of a Tree Swallow box!

• Many people have tried to pattern nest boxes that would preclude House Sparrow entry and damage, with little or no success.
• Boxes with small interiors will NOT deter Firm Sparrows, despite claims. Plus, small interiors can be detrimental or even fatal for young swallows and bluebirds.Click here for a page containing a discussion of nest box size.
• Very small entrance holes will prevent House Sparrows from entering boxes intended for chickadees and some wrens, just will too prevent bluebirds and swallows from using the boxes.
• Slotted entrances, like the Duncraft Swallow Bird Business firm, below, unfortunately practise NOT stop all House Sparrows from taking over swallow and bluebird boxes.  Tree Swallows, with their slender bodies and small heads, enter these boxes hands.  But, although Business firm Sparrows are generally bulkier, in most populations at that place are individual sparrows that tin squeeze through these narrow slots.

• Slotted archway restrictors like the i beneath, have also failed in many cases.

• Therefore, since the devastation of Swallows and Bluebirds past House Sparrows has NOT been solved through box design, we continue to recommend that boxes intended for these native songbirds should be located far from buildings.

IF you take Tree Swallows trying to nest NOW, and House Sparrows are attempting to take over their box:

• Odds are the sparrows will not leave, and it's only a thing of time before they destroy the consume nesting.
• Your options are limited: You can kill the House Sparrows, or endeavor non-lethal alternatives such equally Sparrow Spookers or Hironbec Pendulums, which nosotros discuss below.

KILLING HOUSE SPARROWS: One option to prevent Business firm Sparrow damage to Tree Consume nestings.

• House Sparrows are considered non-native pests and, every bit such, they are Not protected by constabulary.  They tin can be trapped and killed, or killed outright.
• Methods for trapping and killing Firm Sparrows can be plant on Sialis.
• The same Sialis page also explains why you should NOT relocate Business firm Sparrows.

SPARROW SPOOKERS: A not-lethal option to prevent House Sparrow damage to Tree Swallow nestings.

• If you don't want to impale House Sparrows you lot might attempt a Sparrow Spooker.

• Sparrow spookers are simple, cheap, easy-to-make devices which tin can successfully protect Bluebirds from Business firm Sparrows according to Bluebird experts. They should practice the same for Tree Swallows.
• Spookers use flexible flashing strips, frequently made of mylar tape sold at garden stores.
• The strips flutter over box lids and entrances, frightening House Sparrows enough to prevent intrusions.
• You tin can find spooker plans and guidelines on the Sialis web site.
• Bluebirds and Tree Swallows both commonly accept spookers on their boxes.

• We conducted a pocket-size test that found spookers could preclude Firm Sparrow damage to Tree Consume nestings.

MONOFILAMENT Line-fishing LINE: Another non-lethal House Sparrow deterrent.

• Some persons have found monofilament line-fishing line bundled on and around nest boxes appears to frighten House Sparrows, simply not Tree Swallow or Bluebirds.
• The photo below from Fine art in Alberta uses thread to prove one way to configure fishing line.
• Art emphasizes that to avert possible entanglements fishing line should be tied on securely, not just looped around the screws.
• There is a detailed discussion of fishing line use with illustrations on the Sialis website.

HIRONBEC PENDULUMS: Yet another not-lethal pick to prevent House Sparrow impairment to Tree Eat nestings.

• Another non-lethal option is the Hironbec Pendulum (run into below).
• Rene Lepage of Quebec designed pendulums specifically to protect Tree Swallows from House Sparrows. He's also the sole vender. Here'south a link to the Hironbec Pendulum website.
• Pendulums are metal devices that attach over nest box entrance holes. They use the weight divergence between Tree Swallows, average 20 grams, and Business firm Sparrows, boilerplate 28 grams, to prevent sparrows from entering boxes.
• Nosotros tested pendulums successfully for several years and offering our own recommendations for their employ (run into beneath).

ATTENTION:

• Pendulums are tricky to use and are expensive!
• If y'all consider buying a pendulum please read this entire department carefully.
• Besides, be sure to follow all the links below to get an understanding of what's involved.
• Read this pdf describing pattern and operation of the Hironbec Anti-Sparrow Pendulum.
• Sentinel our YouTube video:  "How to Apply Hironbec Pendulums to Protect Nesting Tree Swallows from House Sparrows."
• Read our instructional pdf  "Suggestions for Using Hironbec Pendulums to Protect Tree Eat Nests from House Sparrows."

How do Pendulums prevent Firm Sparrow damage to Tree Swallow nestings?

When adjusted correctly a Tree Consume can land at and laissez passer through a pendulum into a box (beneath left).  But if a Business firm Sparrow lands its heavier weight pivots the pendulum to one side, blocking the box entrance (below right).

Our Pendulum Trial Results:

• Over four seasons we offered pendulum-equipped boxes twelve times in locations we thought were at risk from House Sparrows.
• Despite this small sample we learned pendulums did protect Tree Swallow nests from House Sparrows when introduced and adjusted correctly, and monitored daily.
• The timing of pendulum-box presentation was very important.
• We had to expect several weeks until female swallows were ready to build nests before we offered them boxes equipped with pendulums.
• During the trials nosotros developed a procedure whereby we "helped" female Tree Swallows larn to laissez passer through pendulums confidently. You tin can watch this "lesson" in the video mentioned above.

How fast did Tree Swallows learn to use pendulums?

• Generally, females gear up and determined to nest-build learned to pass through pendulums very quickly. Nosotros assisted during "lessons" past supplying nest grasses, making weight adjustments to the pendulum residuum bespeak, and chasing Business firm Sparrows away while the lessons were in progress.
• In one case a female person Tree Eat mastered a fully-sensitized pendulum, its tippiness, plus the eat pair's nest defence, prevented Business firm Sparrow takeovers.
• House Sparrows ignored pendulum-equipped boxes occupied past swallows later on a few days. We think they had found these boxes were unattainable.
• Male person swallows learned pendulum operation later while carrying feathers into nests and when feeding nestlings.
• Here'southward a YouTube video showing skilled parent Tree Swallows passing through a Pendulum.
• We worried older nestlings near fledging might climb into Pendulums to wait for parents bringing food, and tip out onto the footing.  Notwithstanding, nestlings adapted to Pendulum movements, and backed into the box when necessary.

Did pendulums consequence Tree Swallow reproductive performance?

• Pendulums did not reduce reproductive operation.  We compared the 12 pendulum nestings with 32 nests in a control group of boxes without pendulums. Nest construction, eggs laid, eggs hatched and nestlings fledged did not differ significantly betwixt the groups.

How often do pendulums need to be monitored?

• Pendulums were not something one could set and forget.  They had to be monitored to make certain they were correctly positioned and not jammed with feathers or stems (see below).
• Every bit a issue, we preferred to monitor pendulums daily to make certain Tree Swallows can enter and exit without problems.

• In conclusion, despite some initial skepticism, we are optimistic pendulums can protect nesting Tree Swallows from House Sparrow intrusions.
• Also, we predict these devices should shield other crenel-nesters like the light-weight Violet-Green Eat (14 grams). For this reason we encourage folks in the western US and Canada to try pendulums with this species. Photo beneath past Rob Robinson.

———————————————————————————

Home: Tree Swallow Nest Box Projects

Creating Tree Consume Nest Box Projects

Tree Eat Life

Diary of One Flavour at Salmon Creek

Monitoring Nest Boxes and Keeping Records
Making Box Checks Keeping Box Records Command Sheets Season Summaries Print Sheets

Contact Us

Source: https://treeswallows.com/tres/index.php/house-sparrow-tree-swallow-damage/

Share this post