House sparrow nest issue

[tacothechicken]

Alright so my hobby is basically putting up birdboxes throughout the year, and this year I have actually experienced my first pest issue whith house sparrows. We have one pair whith chicks who aren't an issue, but one set has taken a box and is causing conflicts whith my other birds (wrens, swallows, chickadees etc.) I don't want to kill them but I'm going out of town in a few days and I'm not sure if I have time to look after baby birds once I get back (if I do they'll be living in an aviary at adult hood) should I choose to remove them. They'll be hatching a few days after I leave. And before anyone asks, yes I attempted to remove the nest during construction but that just led to them attempt to hijack my violet green swallows nest...any advice?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Are you saying you are involving yourself in the wild birds in your yard? For sparrows we continue to destroy the nests they build in our sheds until they go elsewhere, the other species are on their own as far as tending to their own nests.

 

[tacothechicken]

Yes I do tend to the nests, I have spare on hand always, but the sparrows murder swallows happily when they feel the need and I'd rather let them have the box than unintentionally kill a family of birds. The sparrows are just too lazy to start another nest and already killed one of a breeding pair of cliff swallows. I just want a way to chase them off whithout causing the take over of another occupied nest. Or at least move them? If the chicks hatch and grow a bit and then i move them a few yards away, will they find them?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

From my experiences with sparrows is if the babies fall out of the nest they don't seem to seek them out like other birds do. I have seen baby sparrows too young to fly starve to death because of it. They don't appear to be the smartest of birds, and are always fighting and arguing. I'm not sure how to stop them without killing them. I knew they were pests I didn't know they harassed other species though.

 

[tacothechicken]

[QUOTE="oldhenlikesdogs, post: . I knew they were pests I didn't know they harassed other species though.[/QUOTE]

Not usually, it's really just nesting season. But then once they've settled in they'll steal from other nests, kill and attack other birds for sites, and even sneak into other nests, remove eggs and chicks and then take over. Luckily I have a lot of feeders and nesting supplies seeing as they take ques from the swallows as to were to gather nesting material. I've seen them go at all swallow species, chickadees, juncos, wrens, crossbills, and crowned sparrows. They are voracious, luckily your legally slowed to catch and kill them. (Fun fact in wa it's considered a crime to release them once caught, as they are a nonative species and pest)