Are House Sparrows Bluebird Predators?
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- Опубликовано: 2 ноя 2024
- House sparrows are an invasive, nonnative species in North America, and they pose an immense threat to native songbirds, especially birds that nest in boxes like bluebirds.
House sparrows fatally attack adult birds and nestlings. Because house sparrows unalive these songbirds, does that make them a predator?
In this educational video, you'll learn about the predator-prey relationship, other natural relationship, and then we will apply these concepts to the relationship between house sparrows and bluebirds to discover the true answer.
US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE'S 1899 REPORT ABOUT THE HOUSE SPARROW (ENGLISH SPARROW) IN THE UNITED STATES:
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SUMMARY OF BARROW'S REPORT
www.jstor.org/...
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REFERENCES:
Britannica Dictionary. (n.d.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from www.britannica...
Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Predator. PREDATOR | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from dictionary.cam...
Chase, J. M., Abrams, P. A., Grover, J. P., Diehl, S., Chesson, P., Holt, R. D., … & Case, T. J. (2002). The interaction between predation and competition: a review and synthesis. Ecology letters, 5(2), 302-315.
Lang, J. M. & Benbow, M. E. (2013) Species Interactions and Competition. Nature Education Knowledge 4(4):8
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Predator definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from www.merriam-we...
Ziegler Jr, G. F. (1923). Notes on a Purple Martin colony. The Auk, 431-436.
I put up a nest box this spring with the hopes of getting a pair of blue birds. Within a couple of days a pair found the box and decided to stay. Clutch 1 had 5 eggs all hatched, all fledged. Clutch 2 had 5 eggs all hatched all fledged. Clutch 3 had 5 eggs, 3 hatched 2 didn’t. The 3 baby birds were doing well until this morning. 😢 I’m not sure what happened. But, after watching your video I believe a sparrow was wanting the nest box. I want to thank you for all the information you share in your videos. Your videos helped me decide what nesting box to purchase and where to place it in my yard. I will continue to help our blue bird population with your continued guidance.
That's amazing you've had so much success!
But I'm sorry to hear that this round isn't going so well.
If there is a house sparrow, this is going to make it tough. You could try to set up a second box for the house sparrows and then try to trap them.
Decoy boxes, as I call them, have helped me, but I usually have those up at the beginning of the season.
The other thing to check for is blowfly larva on the baby bluebirds. This page has some information
www.sialis.org/blowflies.htm
The larva are parasites and will suck the blood. Eventually the babies get sickly and lethargic and can pass away.
If this is whats happening, I would contact a rehabber (google for a local rehabber) for guidance on whether they need brought in or if the condition is still ok to where you could use tweezers to pull the larva off.
A lot of bluebird landlords will do a full nest swap after removing larva off the babies if blowflies are bad. You can make a nest using pine needles in the box. Then with a fist, depress your knuckles into the pine needle bedding and twist and push and twist and push down until a deep cup forms. A rehabber may also have helpful Guidance on that too.
Good luck. I hope it turns around for thos set. Keep me posted.
On my last check the babies had died. 😢 I looked them over for blowfly larva and didn’t see any. What I found was injury to their heads. I will be setting up a decoy box soon. If the pair return and the female begins building a new nest I will certainly let you know.
I'm so so sorry. It's always tragic when things like this happen. I'm thankful that people still keep up the good work despite the heartbreaks. Thank you for the update. The injury to the heads would suggest a house sparrow or possibly a house wren. Hopefully they try again and it goes better this time. If they don't try again, this season, they still might be back next year to give it another try. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
I’m awed by your mention of the ancient USDA 1889 report on those g. d. gangster invasives. I’d never heard of the report in all my reading & watching; can’t wait to follow your link that you so generously included. MANY THANKS!
I was pretty awe-struck when I found it too. But then I had seen a few things from Audubon about the "house sparrow wars." I just had no idea the massive data collection until finding that and the summary paper. There are a lot of publications from the 19th and 20th centuries. Also, there were many bird groups started during that time that would publish their own bulletins and circulars.
I've been dealing with wrens as you know, kinda wondering if our previous conversation didn't spark the topic of this video, lol ,but now that my bluebirds have hatched and are in their first week of life i noticed on my Merlin app that both the house sparrow and E. starling have come up on the calls. Then I spotted the sparrow. talk about panic . I watch carefully with every free moment I have where the sparrows are to the bluebird box. I put up spookers the other day to the mama bluebirds dismay, she was not happy about it so I had to remove it as she wouldn't enter the nest. I stand guard now with my faithful .22 in hopes of an open shot at the "competitor" because now I am the predator.
Hey there! Glad to hear from you. Dont worry, it was not just that conversation but a few other comments that came up on the predator video in addition to finding websites that call house sparrows predators that sparked a desire to make this video. And it was a fun one to research and make.
For the sparrows and starlings - yikes! Here's a few thoughts because it does cause panic for sure:
1. Try again with the sparrow spooker, but attach only 1-2 streamers to start. Once she's accepted, wait about 2 hours (give her rest from stress) attach 2 more. See how she accepts it and then wait and then attach more.
2. I pair a wren guard with my sparrow spookers. My goal is to make the box super unattractive to any invading bird including cowbirds too. Doubling deterrents adds to the obstacles. While they probably aren't consciously aware they do this, birds are usually motivated by actions that use up the least amount of energy (based on so many field studies). So increasing obstacles increases a bird's energy cost. A bird less invested in the nest will hopefully seek out an easier nest box. Meanwhile momma Blue is invested and more willing to expend extra energy.
3. Use decoy boxes that are attractive and "cost less energy." In addition to a wren guard and sparrow spooker on active boxes, I'll always have a decoy box out that is easy to access and freely available. I can then trap as needed. This has helped tremendously. I've watched house sparrows and Eurasian tree sparrows go after the decoy box first. This also helps with house wrens. Decoy boxes (no traps in their case) keep them busy and less interested in other boxes.
5. Most if these tactics can work for starlings too. For starlings, use a decoy box that's a bit bigger and has a larger hole. There are van ert traps for starling boxes too. Additionally, dont put out suet or bark butter because that really attracts them. Use seed that is still in its shell as birdseed. And maybe only put out birdseed at certain times of the day. This can help you monitor more.
6. Disclaimer, nothing is ever 100%. We do our best. But individual birds are unique in their behavior sometimes.
Keep an eye on the sparrows. I hear them sometimes too in my area, and I can only hope the precautions taken reduce the risk of an attack.
Thanks for keeping a lookout and protecting your native birds.
Very good information, definitely will check out your other vids. Thanks!
Thank you
Thanks for explaining predator and competitor relationships. I wish we had more predators for invasive starlings and sparrows, but human control will work in the meantime
Falcons and small hawks will eat them, but they aren't selective about it. However, that's why falconry is so important. It's another way of helping control the invasive populations.
I Love house sparrows, but they are a handful.
I have a pair of Blues on 2nd brood! Thought they might fledge today. I noticed an ehs would harass them as they returned to and left the nest! I made a cup of tea, trained my .25 cal pcp on a water feature I put out for the blues! Before my tea was cold I got her and two males! I also trap with box and repeating traps! There's no end to them but if you get the ones harassing the breeders it makes things a lot easier for the blues!
Glad you got them. It is quite a battle to manage. I'm also sorry about their circumstances in the US. They're dictated by nature, meanwhile their species struggles in some of their native lands. Being a bluebird landlord is quite a responsibility, but it teaches us so much. Thanks for keeping a watchful eye on yours.