How to dispose of trapped sparrow.

[LarryMelcher/KY]

I sometimes have to set insert traps/door traps at my public colony site. I use gourds, and once I unscrew the lid and carefully peek inside, POSITIVELY ID the bird and know for sure I have only trapped one. I slip my hand inside and feel my way around until I have the bird in my hand. Grasp the bird tightly and use the "chest compression" method. When I bring the bird out, even with an audience, he has expired.
I hate.... I hate this part of the hobby, but know it has to be done. S&S way out number our native birds and I have to talk to myself as I am holding the soon to be expired killer of our native birds. These S&S are no different than if tonight, as you are enjoying a TV show, a human version of S&S barge into your home, look around, decide they like it, and tell you to leave. You don't budge from your home and they peck you to death and throw you out the front door. That is EXACTLY what happens to our native birds. We humans brought the S&S over here, and it is our duty to protect our native song birds as they deserve a safe nest site.

[Scully]

Just to put things in context; if have gassed sparrows, crushed sparrows, glue-trapped sparrows and mouse-trapped sparrows.

But I would hesitate to clip the fligt feathers of a sparrow.

Clipping the flight feathers of the wings and clipping the tail feathers are two entirely different things.

A tail-clipped sparrow retains the power of flight. While they do fly oddly on first release they soon adjust. Though they must be less manouverable in flight than intact sparrows, this difference is not readily apparent to the human eye. If they are more likely to be caught by a predator, death by predation is usually quick.

Clipping the flight feathers on the wings however DOES seriously impede the power of flight, in worst case scenarios to the degree that the sparrow cannot readily travel to sources of food and water. Dooming it to a lingering death unless it is fortunate enough to be killed by a predator.

Mike Scully

[KathyF]

Clipping the flight feathers on the wings however DOES seriously impede the power of flight, in worst case scenarios to the degree that the sparrow cannot readily travel to sources of food and water. Dooming it to a lingering death unless it is fortunate enough to be killed by a predator.

Mike Scully

Then it sounds like I will be removing trapped sparrows only when no one is present- option 2! I consider my time on earth to be very valuable and I simply cannot fathom myself putting all that time & effort into trapping a house sparrow, just to let them go so that they can return next year, rinse & repeat.....

[Robbo]

I'm with Kathy, just eliminate as humanely or as quick as possible. I hate it when they escape, because they always come back.

[Scully]

Well, we haven't observed any accumulation of invading sparrows from year to year since we have been tail-clipping, so I dunno how many return to invade the gourds.

We do know they don't come back that same year ie before the fall moult, even though many remain in the vicinity.

Nothing wrong with killing 'em, but tal clipping has worked well for us.

Mike Scully

[Stretch]

Re: tail clipping

I'm glad to have it as a tool to use at public sites. I can't even set an obvious trap -- limited to in-cavity and try then to be discrete because of the diverse opinions of those watching, and because it's not my private property -- I have to always keep that in mind.

We are trying with sites in public parks to get people to notice nature, and birds in general. Most don't know one bird from another. If an individual goes home and puts up martin housing on their own property, then that's a good time for them to do as they wish, and learn all they can.

Not sure the survival rate of clipped sparrows. They fly well, and I've seen one here at my city home on my winter feeders, but they lose interest in mating, so I think of the technique as neutering.

I recently attended a very informative talk from a wild bird rehab center in St. Louis and the speaker was asked if they will rehab starlings and sparrows, if a citizen brings one in. She said yes because the center's goal was not to impact a particular species, but to educate the public about appreciating nature. Then..someone brought up the thing about sparrows not being natives. Another worker from the center, a person of Native American heritage, remarked that white people are not natives either. Ha. Just thought it was interesting...we can argue all this until the cows come home, but again, I'm just glad to have it as a tool, for use...sometimes.

John M

I'd give this a big like if it were facebook. great explanation.

[Okierancher]

My husband put HS between hard surface and rubber mallet!

[Craig Dyer]

I prefer shooting (usually an instant death), but sometimes have to resort to trapping. I have also used starter fluid (ether). That method gives me the creeps. I don't like killing anything (exception-fire ants). Trapped house sparrows generally don't survive more than a day or so inside a trap. The easiest (cowardly) approach is to let them perish in the trap, then simply dispose of them.

[Ed Pace]

I don't know if threads like this need to be on the forum I actually feel they don't serve a useful purpose because of the way the opposites feel. We all know the starlings and sparrows are a real detriment to raising purple martins so they do need to go, if you really want to get rid of them in a hurry live trap them ,get an old microwave in seconds it's all over clean, you can look or you don't have to look.

[DornCounty]

I trap at a public colony all the time. I take them out quickly and efficiently by popping their heads off. No pain, no one cares. I don't make a public sacrifice out of it, but don't waste my time trying to hide it either. I've offed probably 600+ sparrows this way by now. Not fun, but it is what it is.

[BobbyG]

I was kind of feeling bad about trapping sparrows and killing them until last year when I had 6 baby martins with no feathers dead on the ground and I kept watch and saw a sparrow killing a baby martin this year I have ben on a quest and since martins have come to my home to have there young I have killed 39 sparrows. I will tell you I have more pellets than there are sparrows. ( Benjamin Maureder ) the martins don't even fly when the sparrow falls there getting used to it.