Amusement Park Sparrow population not very amusing.

[Doug Martin - PA]

I just got home from a weekend tournament up in Sandusky Ohio area.

Great area as we stayed right on the Sandusky river.

We did a lot of country driving and saw many unique Martin setups with some of them out in the middle of nowhere. Saw many Martins in the air but very few at housing as it is so late in the season.

We spent the day at Cedar Point Amusement Park and I even saw a few Martins there at the housing until the sparrows chased them off. We ate at the picnic pavillion which was nothing more than a giant feeding station for hundreds of European Sparrows fighting over handouts from the people eating there.

Talk about losing my appetite!!! Within feet of me were our native bird's biggest enemy hopping around by the dozens. I pitty the Purple Martins that are attracted to the housing in the park and area, that probably lose their offspring each year to these non-native sparrows.

It should be a state law that parks and recreation areas should have to trap and dispose of these birds and it should be illegal let let them multiply in these kind of numbers. Or at the very least take down the Martin housing anywhere nearby.

What a shame. We should start a petition and send it to all the state representatives to support national control of S&S.

I know I would sign it. So would many others.

[scottfreidhof]

The martins using the metal house at the entrance to Cedar Point made my day last time I visited the park. Of course the view of Lake Erie from the top of the rides is a nice attraction too. I'm happy to know that the martins are still hanging on. I think it would take just one concerned martin lover who lived near the park to make a difference. With permission, a person could trap sparrows once the park closes for the season. In the spring, it would probably be easy to target leftover sparrows attracted to the martin housing.

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

And I'm thinking the HOSP are present when the people (food) is present and that's about it. There would not be any to trap without the tourists present and everyone would FREAK-OUT if they saw cages with trapped birds in them. Of course why don't these same people freak out at the birds in cages at pet stores? It must be the mind set that says certain birds are ok to be in traps and others not. How do we get people to screw their heads on straight about invasive species?

[~Ray~Gingerich]

At my work place there are tons of sparrows, it makes me grit my teeth to see sparrows hopping around in the bushes and sidewalks almost within arms reach and with no fear of people. I did destroy about a dozen nests though

[John Miller]

Sparrows can be maddening, but they tend to be localized. In Forest Park, St. Louis, a 1,000 acre urban park, the sparrows are numerous in the Zoo because of concession stands and some animal feed. About two miles away, our martin houses in the park have not any sparrow interest -- thank goodness because with scattered sites, my control methods would be limited.

Sparrows are numerous on the block where I live (I don't have martin housing here) because a 97-year-old woman two doors down from me pours out a bagful of mixed seed a week... She's been doing this for years, but poor thing is moving more slowly. One of her sparrows got its head caught in a feeder once and I dislodged it and tossed it up and it flew off, to the old lady's delight. I think the sparrow was not flying well though (grin).

John M