Sparrows eating mortar between bricks of neighbour's house

Hi

I feed the birds in my garden all year round. In addition to other types of bird, we now have between 30-40 sparrows who visit the garden on a daily basis. The foods placed in the garden are peanuts, sunflower hearts and dried mealworms. My neighbour has complained that the sparrows are eating the mortar between the bricks on her house. She says she has placed buckets of sand in her garden to act as a deterrent, but so far this has been ineffective. Also, both our gardens are regularly visited by a sparrowhawk who usually catches two or more sparrows. I should be grateful if anyone is able to offer advice or suggestions. With regard to sand, does it need to be a specific type? Thank you.

  • I had a look for you Erica. They do this as they lack calcium, which they need to produce good egg shells. Suggestions are, to leave out a pile of course sand, you can also add finley cruched eggs shells to the sand, somewhere near to where they are pecking.

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

  • Hi Catlady, thank you so much, I will try this.
  • See if you can get ground oyster shell from where you get your seed or from a local pet store - I used to leave a tray out for my chickens when I had them and various birds used to use it

    Cin J

  • Hi Cin J, many thanks, I'll try to get some.
  • I would suggest that your 'neighbour', and perhaps yourself, should suspend 'cuttlefish' on a string beneath the 'soffat', or 'gutter', of the house being attacked. This would not only supply the seasonal dietary requirement of the 'sparrows', it would also make it more difficult for a 'sparrow hawk' attack.
    Kind regards, Ray Dart (AKA suricat).
  • Many thanks Ray, I like the idea of this and will give it a go.
  • I'll not say that this is the answer, but it's a solution that makes the best sense to me with these circumstances to my POV. :)
  • I hope I've helped.
    Best regards, Ray dart (AKA suricat).