Speaking of bad manners...

[journey11]

Any birdwatchers here?

I am having the worst time with a flock of 20 or so common house sparrows mobbing my feeders. They fight and carry on, rocking the feeder and spilling most of the seed. I am constantly refilling it. And they are scaring off some of the more timid feathered friends. The downy and red-bellied woodpeckers won't come around anymore, nor the chickadees, mourning doves, juncos or gold and house finches. I still get an occasional tufted titmouse and a pair of cardinals, but they don't hang around long, darting in quickly before the sparrows come back.

I know these little guys are hungry too, but they are so destructive and there's so many of them. Is there any way to run them off? I am wondering if I put my feeders out too soon...if that had anything to do with it, because there was only one pair of them last year.

 

[897tgigvib]

I am certain that some animals communicate MUCH more than most people know. (Or will let themselves realize.) Those common house sparrows certainly did a communique! HAY GUYS! GOT A FEEDER OVER HERE!!!

I don't know what you can do once they sent out the memo about the feeder.

Is there a way to put other feeders out there with different food in them? Sparrows seem to like everything. It might be a matter of finding what the sparrows like the least and what the others like more, and from there devising a DYNAMIC feeding plan to outwit the sparrows...

 

[thistlebloom]

Those house sparrows are really bad news Journey. They are an introduced species and wreak havoc on native birds. My mom declared war on them when she witnessed them killing her nesting swallows in her bird boxes.

Check out "feeder halos". They go over your feeders to discourage the house sparrows but don't seem to bother other birds. You can buy them or make them.

 

[thistlebloom]

Oh hey, look here, I was doodling around and found this site: http://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/do-feeder-halos-keep-house-sparrows-at-bay/

 

[digitS']

Dad had feeders in his backyard for years and years. The House Sparrows showed up only every now and then, where not much interested in what was there to eat, and usually left quickly.

House finches were the most common. Juncos were around from autumn on. Goldfinch and chickadees were there every day. Occasionally grosbeaks and some other feathered friends would stop by.

He had two things for them to eat: sunflower and thistle seed, with a separate feeder for each. No millet.

Steve

 

[Jared77]

Or look at the species your trying to attract and see if there is something they really like? That might help too.

 

[897tgigvib]

Yea, I'd vote for trying a combination of using the halos and what Jared and digit suggested. Might have to make a dynamically changing feeding plan along with the halos.

 

[Fred]

Sounds like you have a group of foragers that will stay
as long as the feast is on.

Just remove the feeders for 7 to 10 days, and that group
should move on.
Unless they've got another good food source nearby.

 

[Nyboy]

Legend has it the first sparrows where turned loose in Central park by a man who wanted every bird Shakespeare wrote about in the usa.

 

[curly_kate]

I heard that about starlings, too. Stupid (*&%@&*#( starlings!