Greetings All!
Following hurricane Ike's devastation to the Gulf Coast a year ago September, my forested backyard opened up a bit, and I put up an S&K barn house last February. I was thrilled in May or June to have a handsome SYM fairly regularly visit the house, usually from nearby wires, singing his lovely morning song and occasionally bringing a few friends by to check out the new digs, so hope to see him return this spring. This year I'll be adding 6 Troyer vertical gourds to provide more interesting housing options and have ordered aluminum tunnel traps for them, along with two universal sparrow traps for the barn house. I'm invaded by territorial house sparrows, and diligently removed their nests last spring and recently after reopening the house, but after reading continuous removal of their nests can make them more aggressive and vindictive towards the Martins, decided to trap and release (sorry I will not kill the sparrows) and have also ordered the deluxe repeating sparrow trap to help cut down on the large population. I discovered several Martin colonies in my neighborhood, and thoroughly enjoyed observing them flying high the sky last season. Hoping to be a landlord one day soon.
Beginning in Houston, Texas
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James Strickland FL
- Posts: 2249
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 8:04 pm
- Location: Reidsville NC
- Martin Colony History: 2017 Had a lot visitors no Matins nesting, hoping 2018 will be different.
2018 Had 1 pair
2019 had 30 pair
Becky it is great that you are getting into being a martin landlord, but as for the sparrows, I would end them. If you relocate them you could be causing some other martin landlord to lost there colony or they will go into that colony and kill there martin young. I do not like kill any animal, but they do not belong here in the United State and we need to protect our birds here.
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stan davison
- Posts: 715
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:48 pm
- Location: Tulsa Oklahoma
IMO the sparrows will eventually win out. Nest pulling just irritates the male sparrow and causes him to peck martin eggs and kill young possibly the adult martins as well. The sparrows will never leave until they are eliminated once they choose a location.
I have diligently been shooting any sparrow I see in the vicinity of my backyard. Even so, I lost some martins last year to a rouge sparrow poking a hole in several martin eggs. Once you see what they can do in a few seconds with your back turned you will change your mind. I would buy a nice pellet gun and start practicing.
becky.......first of all, welcome! and i hope you have good luck with attracting martins. as for the "catch and release program" with the sparrows, i'm not sure exactly what your plan is? i would think you would have to travel hundreds of miles to release them without the threat of them returning. i do understand though, i am an animal LOVER (as i am sure most people here are) and i struggled with killing the starlings and sparrows until i started seeing how much trouble they can cause. it was a difficult decision, but the best decision IMO. anything short of "eliminating" them will probably not work. rick
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KathyF
- Posts: 3522
- Joined: Thu May 24, 2007 1:57 pm
- Location: Missouri/Licking
- Martin Colony History: Colony started - 2007 with one pair
As of 2018 - 84 cavities offered, max # of pairs hosted - 82.
Becky, welcome to the forum! You'll find lots of good information here from very, very experienced landlords who have gone through everything you're going to experience.
Martins are exciting to watch and lots of fun! However, you're going to have to deal with much pain & anguish with the house sparrows, I'm afraid. I commend you for trapping them, but would encourage you to try an experiment. Grab some red or white fingernail polish next time you catch some and paint it on their wings / tails. That way you will be able to tell how many times you're catching the same HOSP. It is documented that they will return to your site before you can even get home from the trip to release them.
If you still can't bring yourself to kill them, at the very least before releasing them elsewhere, you can clip their tails and 1 wing (cut the row of flight feathers in half) - that will at least prevent them from flying and returning to your home or becoming a problem for someone else - at least for this season.
You've spent a lot of money on your setup and traps, so you don't want to let a house sparrow ruin that for you.
Anyway, good luck to you and your martins.
Martins are exciting to watch and lots of fun! However, you're going to have to deal with much pain & anguish with the house sparrows, I'm afraid. I commend you for trapping them, but would encourage you to try an experiment. Grab some red or white fingernail polish next time you catch some and paint it on their wings / tails. That way you will be able to tell how many times you're catching the same HOSP. It is documented that they will return to your site before you can even get home from the trip to release them.
If you still can't bring yourself to kill them, at the very least before releasing them elsewhere, you can clip their tails and 1 wing (cut the row of flight feathers in half) - that will at least prevent them from flying and returning to your home or becoming a problem for someone else - at least for this season.
You've spent a lot of money on your setup and traps, so you don't want to let a house sparrow ruin that for you.
Anyway, good luck to you and your martins.
"Sometimes", said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
2023 - 82 pair
2022 - 80 pair
2021 - 75 pair
2020 - 78 pair
2019 - 80 pair
http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com
2023 - 82 pair
2022 - 80 pair
2021 - 75 pair
2020 - 78 pair
2019 - 80 pair
http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com
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Joe Zorn
I do shoot sparrows and trap and shoot starlings. I am more agressive toward the sparrows than I am toward the starlings.
Since I installed porches with my SREH's, I have had no starlings enter the nests. They do try to keep the Martins away, so they get shot when they start that. After the colony has established, sometime in April or so, I quit worrying about starlings. Martins can outnumber and defend themselves.
Nothing discourages sparrows. They get shot and trapped. No mercy for them. You cannot discourage them in any way. I do rip out nests every two days when doing nest checks. I have not seen sparrow revenge until the sparrows's babies are hatched. I decided one year to let one nest of sparrows alone. They seemed to be coexisting with the PM's okay. All went well until the eggs hatched. Then the sparrows went from room to room, breaking martin eggs and attacking babies.
I do not feel sorry for sparrows. They are viceous killers. Only a good pellet gun speaks the language they understand. These birds are not protected by any state's laws. They are not native to the United States, and are so prolithic that we will never be able to wipe them out.
They do not live and let live. They invade the nests of other birds and puncture eggs and attack babies.
Since I installed porches with my SREH's, I have had no starlings enter the nests. They do try to keep the Martins away, so they get shot when they start that. After the colony has established, sometime in April or so, I quit worrying about starlings. Martins can outnumber and defend themselves.
Nothing discourages sparrows. They get shot and trapped. No mercy for them. You cannot discourage them in any way. I do rip out nests every two days when doing nest checks. I have not seen sparrow revenge until the sparrows's babies are hatched. I decided one year to let one nest of sparrows alone. They seemed to be coexisting with the PM's okay. All went well until the eggs hatched. Then the sparrows went from room to room, breaking martin eggs and attacking babies.
I do not feel sorry for sparrows. They are viceous killers. Only a good pellet gun speaks the language they understand. These birds are not protected by any state's laws. They are not native to the United States, and are so prolithic that we will never be able to wipe them out.
They do not live and let live. They invade the nests of other birds and puncture eggs and attack babies.
Last edited by Joe Zorn on Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Guest
My sparrow population is now probably 100 at least. They have not looked at my Martin house yet. I can't say the same for a pair of bluebirds. Anyway I have my hands full with the sparrows. No Martins as of today. With the sparrow population the way it is here, I may not get my Martins back.
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Joe Zorn
Becky,
I intended to welcome you to the forum with my previous, but my writing about the sparrows got my blood up.
Welcome. Lots of help and advice here.
Best of luck with your 2010 season.
Joe
I intended to welcome you to the forum with my previous, but my writing about the sparrows got my blood up.
Welcome. Lots of help and advice here.
Best of luck with your 2010 season.
Joe
hi becky
sparrows and starling are inports they are not a native burd, trap the sparrows or let them nest and take a small pin and make a hole in the egg and let them set , the eggs wont hatch. sparrows are bad and they will kill all the other little birds they can
sparrows and starling are inports they are not a native burd, trap the sparrows or let them nest and take a small pin and make a hole in the egg and let them set , the eggs wont hatch. sparrows are bad and they will kill all the other little birds they can
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Becky
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 4:06 pm
- Location: Houston - Oak Forest
- Martin Colony History: first pair in 2010, 12 pairs last several years
A special thank you to each and every one of you for your suggestions, experiences and sincere welcoming. Your points are well taken and I will continue to consider them as time goes by. For now my place to start is by trapping and releasing the sparrows, marking them with red nail polish to see if they return. Today was my first attempt with one little trap for the S&K house and managed to trapped two pairs (other traps yet to arrive). I understand and respect the decision to kill the sparrows, and it's possible one day I will be driven to this approach, but like many of you, I have a deep respect for all life and will do what I can to avoid taking any life unnecessarily. Most of us are not "natives" to this great country of the USA and who am I to judge who belongs here. Yet I understand the conviction to protect our native species. I am sure as I begin co-working with Martin families that my perspective with grow and change, and I looking forward to learning from all of you.
Somewhere on this forum someone at his public site was cutting off the tail feathers on the sparrows that he trapped then releasing them. I am not sure whether this made it harder for the SP to land on the housing or what it did. Maybe someone here knows about that.
I just kill em.
I just kill em.
Last edited by JamesinIA on Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
2009 One ASY pair 5 eggs 5 fledged 2010 2 pair 5 fledged 2011 8 pair 27 fledged 2012 14 pair 38 fledged
2013 20 pair 64 fledged 2014 19 pair fledged 84 2015 26 pair fledged 124 2016 36 pair fledged 156 2017 40 pair fledged 156
PMCA member
2013 20 pair 64 fledged 2014 19 pair fledged 84 2015 26 pair fledged 124 2016 36 pair fledged 156 2017 40 pair fledged 156
PMCA member
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birdy girl
- Posts: 1179
- Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:09 am
- Location: Mississippi/Dumas
I know that it has been written about clipping the wings of sparrows with scissors (shortening the wing length by cutting off about 1" or so). This makes it where the sparrows cannot fly. They can barely get off the ground. This makes it easier for a predator to catch the sparrow instead of the person killing the sparrow.
Becky,
Your post reminds me of myself just four short years ago. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am an animal rescuer and love ALL animals and birds, fish, reptiles, etc. But after two years of warfare with those little sparrow devils, I had to say "uncle" and join the sparrow haters on this site. For the sake of my Martin population, they had to be eliminated.
I cry every time I have to do it, but I put them in a bag, spray them with starter fluid, close up the airtight bag and put them in the garbage.
Thankfully, since I've stopped feeding "wild bird feed" and only feed black-oil sunflower seed and thistle for the finches, my sparrow population has dropped dramatically. I only saw one pair this year so far and they have managed to avoid my trap. I swear those little boogers have a sixth-sense!
Anyway, I know it will be hard but, like me, you will probably come around to choosing the Martin's welfare over the sparrows. Best of luck to you!
Jeanne
Your post reminds me of myself just four short years ago. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am an animal rescuer and love ALL animals and birds, fish, reptiles, etc. But after two years of warfare with those little sparrow devils, I had to say "uncle" and join the sparrow haters on this site. For the sake of my Martin population, they had to be eliminated.
I cry every time I have to do it, but I put them in a bag, spray them with starter fluid, close up the airtight bag and put them in the garbage.
Thankfully, since I've stopped feeding "wild bird feed" and only feed black-oil sunflower seed and thistle for the finches, my sparrow population has dropped dramatically. I only saw one pair this year so far and they have managed to avoid my trap. I swear those little boogers have a sixth-sense!
Anyway, I know it will be hard but, like me, you will probably come around to choosing the Martin's welfare over the sparrows. Best of luck to you!
Jeanne
"Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap, yet your heavenly Father feeds them."