Birding!
- Thread starter jjohnwm
- Start date
What's all the hate regarding sparrows? Our sparrows are about as boring looking as a bird can get, just drab brown, even the males! Are yours the same?
I dislike their boring look compared to some of our other garden birds, but they seem harmless enough, they just seem to go about their business, i certainly don't have any hate for them, and absolutely would never kill them.
I dislike their boring look compared to some of our other garden birds, but they seem harmless enough, they just seem to go about their business, i certainly don't have any hate for them, and absolutely would never kill them.
I somehow forgot to mention the piece de resistance of backyard bird feeding: Orioles!
Every spring, we use a few shot-glasses that are epoxied to 19-inch squares of plywood, and filled with fruit jam. These are placed on the railings of our front and rear decks, and quickly attract the magnificent Baltimore Orioles, and very occasionally the less-spectacular Orchard Orioles. An adult male Baltimore Oriole matches any of those super-exotics pictured in the post by
duanes
...and they are in my backyard right in Canada! 
Every spring, we use a few shot-glasses that are epoxied to 19-inch squares of plywood, and filled with fruit jam. These are placed on the railings of our front and rear decks, and quickly attract the magnificent Baltimore Orioles, and very occasionally the less-spectacular Orchard Orioles. An adult male Baltimore Oriole matches any of those super-exotics pictured in the post by
duanes
...and they are in my backyard right in Canada!
We have lots of native sparrows, some very beautiful, and all are welcome in the yard. But the House Sparrow...which is really a member of the Weaver Finch family and not a true sparrow...is invasive in North America (and lots of other places) and is extremely destructive to the nests of native cavity-nesting birds. In the city, they are unavoidable; out in the countryside, they are less common unless there is a food source like livestock feed to be had. I don't build all those nestboxes intended for Bluebirds and Tree Swallows...only to have them usurped by House Sparrows. They are shot on sight; I actually have a specific shotgun outfitted and devoted to that purpose...my "sparrow gun".
It gets used on European Starlings as well; they are even worse than the House Sparrows. They will visit nestbox after nestbox, destroying the eggs inside, and then just move on to the next. Fortunately they are even less common here.
What John said.
Years ago we had a pair of native Tree Swallows nesting in our yard, in a box that was set up specifically for that species. After a few years of successfully nesting in that box, I noticed that the pair had suddenly disappeared, right in the middle of nesting season. Then I spotted a male house sparrow. When I opened the lid up, much to my horror the male sparrow, had killed the female, while she was sitting on her eggs - which were also now destroyed - and then proceeded to build his new nest directly on top of the spoils. House Sparrows to our native species of similar size, is like comparing a snakehead to a fingerling trout. Most native species simply don't stand a chance against their aggression. The squirrels & larger birds don't take any guff from them, but even hummingbirds are attacked when attempting to feed. The only smaller species of birds that I have seen stand up to them, successfully, are House Wrens, who also nest in our yard.
Thank goodness we see very few Starlings in this area.
They are in our area, but the trees around my place (mostly conifers) aren't well suited for their nesting etc. One of my co-workers gets them in his yard (out of city limits) every year and has told me that little cups of grape jelly is the #1 food choice for Orioles. My sister in South ON sends me pics of a nesting pair every year just to rub it in. lol
Well it's obvious I'm certainly not a bird fanatic, lol. I was shocked at your guys reports regarding the house sparrow, so much so that I did a bit of research on the UK sparrow, sure that your sparrow must be a different one!!
And there it was in black and white. They really are nasty little buggers. Egg and nest wreckers of other species, farmers dislike them because when in huge flocks they destroy crops, and homeowners dislike them as well because they can damage property!!
Unfortunately though I will be unable to join you in your quest in culling them as they are protected over here, though they can be killed humanely in the US and Canada.
You learn something new everyday, lol.
And there it was in black and white. They really are nasty little buggers. Egg and nest wreckers of other species, farmers dislike them because when in huge flocks they destroy crops, and homeowners dislike them as well because they can damage property!!
Unfortunately though I will be unable to join you in your quest in culling them as they are protected over here, though they can be killed humanely in the US and Canada.
You learn something new everyday, lol.
I had them breeding right in my front yard, 25 yards from the house, in Ontario. Sadly, here in Manitoba we get them only on migration on my land. The closest half-assed-mature trees to my house are still 100 yards away, and they seem not to attract the Orioles for nesting purposes. Very much a shame, they are spectacular birds.
Culling? Who said anything about culling?? That implies managing the population for the betterment of the species as a whole.
I am waging an all-out war, bent on extermination.
Thanks for posting that! Nice to see; I've noticed a couple of other news bits on this nest, and fortunately none of them reveal the location closely enough for the crowds of photographers who often stress susceptible birds to actually find this nest and start their shenanigans.
