Hi all,
For a bit of backstory, I’ve been feeding and watching birds in my garden (North London) for over a year now.
I use 2 products from Roamwild (tube and window feeder) who specialise in squirrel/large bird proof feeders. The window feeder is rarely used by blue tits. So, most of the use is at the tube feeder and so far, it’s attracted blue, coal & great tits as well as the occasional robin. Dunnocks and wood pigeons are always on standby to clear up any spillage.
This past week house sparrows have found my feeder. A few male, a few female and some youngsters it seems (~6 in total and always in a group). I was surprised to see that these were classified in the UK as Red under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021).
I put out some coconut shell suets last year that attracted some Starlings and the House Sparrows’ behaviour is very similar. To their disappointment, Starlings are too big to use my tube bird feeder, but House Sparrows are small and light enough to use it. They travel in packs, they’re aggressive around the feeder, eat constantly throughout the day and hence have emptied the feeder within a few days.
Compared to what I see from my usual visitors, this is the total opposite behaviour! It seems their presence has also deterred my usual visitors which is a shame.
I will continue topping up my feeder of course, but I was wondering is this seasonal behaviour or is this group likely to stay for the long term now? I imagine they’re nesting in a nearby park. I’ve never seen them before until this week and have also reported the sighting using the BTO app.
From my research it seems the House Sparrows are sometimes considered pests along with Starlings. I’m not opposed to feeding them but was just curious whether this was common and likely to be the start of a new pattern.
I should also add that I've noticed they often take seeds away in their beaks, presumably for chicks in a nearby nest.
All in all since they spend a large amount of time at the feeder as well as in my garden it’s allowed me to bird watch a lot more than I was able to before.
I look forward to reading your thoughts!
Hi Wendy,
The same house sparrows are still devouring all the bird food in my garden at an alarming rate! Most of the time I look outside it's them at the feeder and seldom other birds.
They waste a lot of the bird food (which pigeons later eat), so the speed at which they go through it looks worse.
I'm happy to continue refilling and buying more bird food for mostly them and others, but I do miss my old visitors and their birdsongs.
As I've said elsewhere, their red conservation status means it's even more important to continue!
Definitely a case of be careful what you wish for! Pleased to hear you are still happy to feed the sparrows though! I used to have a suet log feeder to attract the smaller birds like Long Tailed Tits & others but beware ... Starlings were also frequent visitors but they are also in decline ...
www.gardenwildlifedirect.co.uk/suet-log-feeder.html
There are other types available, some even cheaper, just google! My sparrow flock were never interested, only went for sunflower hearts!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
We have a number of sparrows who like to come and empty the feeders but luckily it doesn't seem to deter the blue tits, robins and dunnocks too much. That being said, the sparrows will concentrate more on the mixed seeds and the blue tits, for now at least, seem to prefer the nuts and they all like the suet blocks (which we then run out of quickly). The sparrows, dunnocks, wood pigeons and collared doves also like the mess the sparrows leave behind with seeds all over the floor. They've all had young at some point this year, so it's been lovely to see the youngsters as well. Even though I sometimes refer to the sparrows as the "flying rats" they are a joy to watch. They do devour an awful lot of food in a short space of time
I'm curious how many of these birds are seasonal so it'll be interesting to see who's still around come September!
I use bird feeders from Roamwild that are designed to only feed songbirds (starlings are too heavy and too big to use it). They are also too proud to feed on the floor like pigeons and all the other birds that mop up!
When summer is over I'll buy Roamwild's suet bird feeder too which will hopefully attract different birds.
I've put a birdbox up as well, knowing my luck house sparrows will nest in it!
It will all be down to the hole size in your nestbox ... 25mm for Blue tits, 28mm Great tits but Sparrows need 32mm!
And just to add to Wendy's comment, you can always add a plate if you wanted to make the hole slightly smaller.
Also add that it's a good idea to use a metal plate of whichever size is preferred as added protection against predators pecking their way in to snatch chicks!
I should be okay then, it's from a garden centre and was specifically for one tit or another!
On an unrelated note my bird feeder is in such a perfect position at the moment and is getting more activity than ever before. It's hanging from an arch with climbing roses on either side and looks great.
However, it's a shame but I may need to move it because the mess it's causing underneath (only pathway into garden) is becoming intolerable! The amount of droppings and wasted seed is getting worse by the day especially because of the sparrow quantities.
It was never an issue before because tits would eat much less during the day and in smaller numbers, so the pigeons would mop up pretty well. Now it seems to be too much spillage and just droppings galore everywhere which is obviously expected but I need to make it more manageable. It's also unhygienic for there to be that many droppings/food in the same area so regularly regardless of how much I clean.
I'm running out of practical places to put it! I may have to sacrifice my bird watching and move it further away from my house just to make it more manageable.
Sparrows taking over
Sounds familiar! I've switched to sunflower seeds only now to see if it evens things out a bit but it's still early days. It discourages prolonged time at the feeder unlike my previous "ready to eat" feed. I miss seeing a wide variety of birds in my garden.
Greenfinches, although slightly bigger and much bolder in colour are being pecked away when they try and dislodge the sparrows from my feeder. It's turning into a warzone!
Unfortunately ever since this takeover has happened I still top up the feeder but I'd say my interest in general bird watching has decreased. Mostly because it's the same story every day now.
WendyBartter
Probably worth moving your seed feeder to a location where there is soil underneath so that constantly turning the earth can keep the area more sanitary ... I used to get a few sunflowers growing but these are easily dealt with! Do hope you get more variety of birds visiting as the seasons change!