How do you deal with house sparrows? (1 Viewer)

[jzmtl]

This question is more meant for people in North America. I know you folks on the other side of pond love them, but at my little feeder they outnumber all other birds combined 20 to 1. They sit there and eat all day long, drive others away, probably eat 50 times as much while pooping all over the place.

So do you have/use some sort of deterrent, or just leave them be and fill feeder/clean up after them. I wasn't doing anything but recently tempted to keep them away at least a little. The white throated and song sparrows will be left alone obviously.

 

[Lisa W]

I have a lot of House Sparrows here in the winter, and I just leave them be and feed them along with the others.

 

[fugl]

That would be my advice also--just learn to live with them. They're attractive enough little birds after all & the problems that they cause to native species are easily exaggerated. I've had a big resident flock of House Sparrows in my backyard for years, yet I continue to get plenty of other seed eaters--House Finches, goldfinches, White/Golden-crowned Sparrows, towhees etc--at my feeders as well.

 

[Guinness537]

I keep just feeding the House Sparrows all winter long.

I usually start out with close to thirty in the yard in the fall. The constant raids by Sharpie's and Cooper's cut the number down by a considerable amount.

Feed the Sparrows = Feeding the Hawks.


B

 

[EK_Birds]

Got about 30 at a time at my feeders here in Scotland, easily outnumber everything else.

Just gotta live with it, or leave a donation tin out, see if they'll help to pay for all the food you give them !!

 

[Denversuz]

I am fairly new. But had the same problem. I changed some of my feeders to safflower seed. I still get many different birds that like it. The house sparrows do not. Neither do the grackles. But pretty much all the other birds like it fine. It did take a little while.
I also have a weighted feeder that will hold four birds...house sparrow size...and I have a mixed seed in that one. All the birds like it and it limits how many sparrows can eat. So I do have somehting for them, but not for a LOT of them. Also I changed some of my feeders to very small perches or no perches or a dome feeder with the dome very low. All of that limits the house sparrows and some of the larger problem birds.....at least so far.

 

[jzmtl]

So it looks like I'll have to put up with them. Well I have about 55 lb of black oil sunflower seed stored (costco bulk pack, lol) for winter, if they eat and waste everything then everybody will starve.

Can't do size/weight limitations, there are blue jay and cardinals that I like. No safflower available locally, so I'll have to stick with sunflower. I bought some nyjer but nobody seems to care for it. I don't have a specific nyjer feeder though so I'll make one from plastic bottle and try again.