avoiding house sparrow revenge

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gray fox
Posts: 115
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:13 am
Location: Tyrone, PA

I want to kill young h.s. Does anybody know how too kill them so they won't take revenge on tree swallows blue birds and martins?
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MaryanneKaht IL
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2016 2:34 pm
Location: Spring Grove IL
Martin Colony History: Active colony of purple martins at this location since 2002.
We have 2 Trio converted Castles + one 8 compartment gourd rack and one 12 compartment gourd rack. 2025 summary: Best year ever! Fledged 100+ purple martins with zero sparrows at colony site this year!

We keep traps going all season long thereby assuring a "sparrow free" environment!...Certainly not a pleasant task, but a necessary one.
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John Miller
Posts: 4866
Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

well..it's best to immediately eliminate the adults, especially the male. that said, I have tried to just encourage older baby house sparrows to jump prematurely. they scurry away and keep the parents busy. Not sure I should hit "submit"- ha..well...here goes.
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flyin-lowe
Posts: 3789
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:49 am
Location: Indiana/Henry Co.

Do you have any eggs yet in the martin and TS housing? The biggest threat is the male HOSP going on a rampage and pecking eggs. Like others have said get rid of the male. If you don't have any eggs close by I wouldn't sweat it myself.
2026 HOSP 27
2025 62 pair HOSP 20
2024 60 pair, HOSP 44
2023 60+ pair, HOSP 8
2022 60 nests with 262 eggs, HOSP 14
2021 62 pair, HOSP 9
2020 42 nest, HOSP 8
2019- 31 pair
2018- 15 pair 49 fledged
2017 3 SY pair, 12 eggs , fledged 10. 4 additional lone SY's
2016 1 pair fledged 4
2015 Visitors
2014 Visitors
2013 Moved 6 miles, 1 pair fledged 2.
2012 30 pair fledged 100.
2011 12 pair 43 fledged.
2010 5 pair 14 fledged.
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pmlover
Posts: 805
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:30 pm
Location: OH/New Concord

best thing to do beside shooting and trapping outside of the martins is once they get in a gourd or t-14 let them next and once they get content of living there put there nest in a trap place it back into the original gourd or t-14 and you will trap the sparrows quick without any retaliation to martins. It works everytime. I have to do it this way because I cant hit the little parentless when I shoot
2015 69 pairs 418 eggs 396 fledged
2019 I have 148 openings now
2016 100 pairs 600 babies fledged added another t-14 and have 126 openings now
2015 Jun 24 360 babies and 58 eggs also found one that had died
2017 632 babies 11died and 20 were killed by hawks
2015 74 pairs and 9 eggs 5/14
2010 3pairss
]JOINED PMCA JUNE 6,2018
2018 651 babies 5 hawk kills 11 floater kills 25 died in houses and 610 fledged

2014 80 pairs 283 babies 282 fledged one died
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jpp77
Posts: 175
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2017 9:21 pm
Location: Lawrence, KS area
Martin Colony History: 2015 - 1 pair, not successful (Sparrows)
2016 - 1 pair, 4 young
2017 - 5 pair, 23 young
2018 - 8 pair, 40 young, two deaths most likely due to heat.
2019 - 18 pair, 74 eggs, 1 nest abandoned, all the rest successful.
2020 - 32 nests, unknown exact egg numbers, 1 death.

Ordered a gourd trap. I haven't been able to kill the solo male I have so I'm trying an in gourd trap. Should be here in a week. Hope that's quick enough. They have a nest built as of yesterday. No eggs yet. Have 8 Martins with no nests yet
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