Bluebird Houses - Successful House Sparrow Prevention! (midwest.social)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by DavidP@midwest.social to c/birding@lemmy.world

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I know this isn't strictly about birding but who doesn't like Eastern Bluebirds?

So this spring I put up two bluebird nest boxes (X-Box design on EMT posts) only to have the bluebirds repeatedly evicted by house sparrows.

A few times I ready about using fishing line to deter the house sparrows, and it has actually worked! I attached two horizontal beams to the tops of the houses and then hung monofilament weighted with large hex nuts.

That was about six weeks ago and now we have a bluebird family in one and house wrens in the other.

Edit - on my lappy so I'll post some links

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[-] Crackhappy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

How exactly does that work to deter sparrows?

[-] Biff@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I know a similar method is used to keep birds from grabbing fish in a Koi pond. Something about the filament deters them. The sparrows often land on top of the box first so I wonder if this has the same effect of stopping them from dropping into the filament.

[-] cadamanteus@mander.xyz 4 points 1 year ago

I wonder if this would work for my feeders, how clever! They're such a menace.

this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023

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