Momma Bluebird has laid 6 eggs & then 2 eggs only to have their 2 nesting & egg laying attempts destroyed by English Sparrows.
That box is 40+ years, forgot what type wood, & is built to specs w/ a 1 1/2" ent. hole. Unfortunately, I live in a Chlt. Meck. subd. & no weapon of any type is allowed to be discharged in city limits & some of my neighbors would not know the difference between a BB gun & a bazooka.you gotta be sure to make the birdhouse entry hole exactly 1.5"
...and shoot the sparrows.
That box is 40+ years, forgot what type wood, & is built to specs w/ a 1 1/2" ent. hole. Unfortunately, I live in a Chlt. Meck. subd. & no weapon of any type is allowed to be discharged in city limits & some of my neighbors would not know the difference between a BB gun & a bazooka.
I used to volunteer with Frank Newell at the Eastern Bluebird Rescue Group in Warrenton. Sparrows are the #1 enemy of bluebirds. Bluebird houses need to be placed at least 100 ft. apart, since bluebirds are territorial to other bluebirds. I try to check my boxes regularly and dump out any sparrow nests I see getting started...even if there are eggs in them.
By the way, the SECU's have started selling the bluebird boxes again. They just ordered 8,000 more from the EBRG. We are not sure if they will continue to sell them after those are gone, so get 'em while you can and if you get a chance, pass a word to the SECU managers that you want them to continue the program.
I feed birds also, but try to use seed that English Sparrows are not crazy about...meal worms for the Bluebirds & Wrens, sunflower & safflower seed for Cardinals, Chickadees, Finches, etc., suet for Woodpeckers, Thrashers, Nuthatches etc., Nyger for Goldfinches. I don't have a huge abundance of English Sparrows, but still get some of those non-native invaders, kind of like the invaders from EVERYWHERE flocking into Chlt. now. I know, I need to move!Someone in the neighborhood is raising the sparrows, probably the same way my neighbor is.
I have about an acre of yard, mostly grass, and it's ideal for a bluebird feeding area. My neighbor has a smaller pie shaped lot (cul-de-sac) and is so desperate to get bluebirds in his yard that he has placed at least eight (8) boxes in his yard as well as some more in neighbors' yards but all he manages to attract is English sparrows so he keeps four feeders going and has become the neighborhood sparrow hatcher; consequently the sparrows are constantly trying to take over the bluebird nest. I'm now convinced he persists just to piss me off, so I told him he could raise all of them he wanted to and I'd kill every one I can. It doesn't help that the dumbazz is my BIL.