Birds, nests and birdhouses

I thought I'd let you guys know what I've learned about two horrible blights on our native birds:

The European Starling



And the House Sparrow (English Sparrow):






Both of these species were brought to the US to the detriment of our native birds. They are reproducing wildly and taking over nests and environments of birds that are not as aggressive.

As a result, birds like the American Bluebird are in danger. House Sparrows in particular will identify a Bluebird nest, bludgeon and destroy whatever they find inside, and either build their own nest there instead, or just leave. Sometimes they come back again, even if they are nesting successfully elsewhere.

I recent years, I've discouraged these birds from nesting in/around my house and I plan on putting up nesting boxes for other beneficial birds like Bluebirds and Chickadees once we're homeowners.

If you put up a birdhouse, make sure it's a professional one that only native birds can use. The size of the hole on the front is specific to the species you're trying to attract. House Sparrows cannot fit inside a hole made for a Chickadee or Bluebird. There are "spacers" you can buy to make the hole smaller.

There's the argument of survival of the fittest and all that... But these two species are not supposed to be here in the first place. Believe it or not, the House Sparrow is endangered in its home country!

Not much is being done on a countrywide scale to stop these birds from taking over, but the backyard birders who are in the know are the greatest fighters! That's why I'm telling all of you this.

Here's a few links on what these two species are doing to kill off our native birds:

Avian Immigrants and their impact in the US

Starlings and House Sparrows are super competitors

It's all Shakespeare's Fault - Avian Aliens

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

I have never seen a Bluebird even though they are the state bird of NY. The sheer number of Starlings and House Sparrows is just staggering. I have seen groups of 30+ Starlings by the road side pecking at the ground.

Actually a lot of the wildlife rehab centers on LI won't even accept Starlings and House Sparrows for rehabing becuase they are introduced species. They also don't accept grackles because they are so abundant.

ETA: We also didn't take Rock Pigeons because they can be parasite carriers

Message edited 4/27/2007 2:24:04 PM.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

Exactly. This is a huge issue among my birding friends. It always causes fights, those on the side of all birds - regardless if they're native, and those who think they should eradicate the offenders...

The only other thing that gets them up in arms as much is the number of birds that get killed by house cats and feral cats each year.

Hot topics among the bird geeks.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

Posted by greenfreak

The only other thing that gets them up in arms as much is the number of birds that get killed by house cats and feral cats each year.

Hot topics among the bird geeks.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

I would love to see an Eastern Bluebird (I've seen a Western one)...it's amazing that it's the state bird and yet so scarce

I yell at Starlings when I see them Yeah, I know that's not going to do anything but they're like cockroaches.

I do, however, like Sparows - I like their song and I have a soft spot for the family that nests in the eagle on our garage.

I would like to get some birdhouses, though, for the yard. There was a Robin's nest in one of our lilac bushes last year!

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I have never seen a bluebird. I was a real bird geek when I was a kid too.

Here is the Bluebird:

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

On an unrelated note- there was a "brids nest" in our BBQ when we opened it up this year. I always had this romantic notion of birds nests being little cupped baskets of twigs...
It was made from garbage. And dime bags.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

That's probably not supposed to be funny but

What kind of birds are they? At least they're cleaning up the crack dens.

Mourning doves are the dumbest nesters around. They "nest" on the floor of people's porches and in wreaths hung from their front doors.

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Didn't take me long to find a silly nesting place for Mourning Doves:



In a bicycle basket.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

Posted by greenfreak

That's probably not supposed to be funny but

What kind of birds are they? At least they're cleaning up the crack dens.

Mourning doves are the dumbest nesters around. They "nest" on the floor of people's porches and in wreaths hung from their front doors.

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I'm an expert Mourning Dove caller. It drives my husband crazy.

They're so sweet looking. I like them too, and the noise their wings make when they fly.

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I love love love hawks. I can spot them anywhere- on a tree on the side of the highway while I drive past at 70 mph.
Love em.
I basically like any bird with a 6 foot or larger wingspan. Owls, hawks, eagles- basically anything that poses a threat to teacup dogs.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

Message edited 4/27/2007 3:44:20 PM.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

I had no idea how huge Bald Eagles were until I went to the Sweetbriar preserve in Smithtown. It's so sad to see something so large and majestic with half a wing.

My favorite is the Osprey. There's a nesting pair that I see every year on a platform at a preserve. One got pretty close once. I love that he looked down on me as he passed.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

Posted by greenfreak

I had no idea how huge Bald Eagles were until I went to the Sweetbriar preserve in Smithtown. It's so sad to see something so large and majestic with half a wing.

My favorite is the Osprey. There's a nesting pair that I see every year on a platform at a preserve. One got pretty close once. I love that he looked down on me as he passed.

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That's so funny, I didn't know that's where you worked! I went for the butterfly house, and they were very nice. That place is beautiful. I'm going to go back again this summer.

The American Kestrels are beauties too... I couldn't get good pictures of any of the birds though because of the cages.

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Osprey, the sloppy Bald Eagle

I have yet to see an owl in the wild...I did see an American Kestrel in the wild (at that preserve past Caumsett - can't think of the name right now - there's a beach at the end??).

I love Red-Tailed Hawks...and the Tufted Titmouse and the Killdeer. I love the Carolina Wren's tail...I love the red-bellied & Downy woodpeckers too.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

Posted by ~Colleen~

Osprey, the sloppy Bald Eagle

I have yet to see an owl in the wild...I did see an American Kestrel in the wild (at that preserve past Caumsett - can't think of the name right now - there's a beach at the end??).

I love Red-Tailed Hawks...and the Tufted Titmouse and the Killdeer. I love the Carolina Wren's tail...I love the red-bellied & Downy woodpeckers too.

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There is a nesting pair of Osprey at Short Beach in Smithtown...I used to go to watch the babies in the early summer.
I once saw an Owl (no idea what kind, except it was HUGE) up in Connecticut. It was getting dark in the woods and he flew right over me.
I'm going to get some of the correct birdhouses, maybe then I'll get some nesting birds.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

When I lived in Spain we had an owl that kept the neighborhood free of rodents -- loved that guy!!

The night before our wedding DH and I took the guests on an osprey tour out of Riverhead aquarium - it was great!!

I don't know which are the "right" birdhouses to buy it seems -- can anyone give me an idea where to get one either on LI or on-line?? Thanks!!

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Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

Those Wild Bird Food centers always have birdhouses - that's probably where I will go. Or Lowes has a whole bird section, with houses and feeders.

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I'm a big birder too.
My problem with the starlings is they are like flying rats. They come into the chicken yard & eat all of their food. I don't even want them near my chickens for fear that they might be sick.
We have great birds here & I'm really creating an awesome bird habitat.
My goal is to earn this certification
Backyard Habitat

Right now we have a couple of families of cardinals, tufted titmice, 3 kids of woodpeckers, Orioles, purple martins & lots of others that are really common.
We have feeders & a couple of houses plus berry bushes.

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Lisa & Kara, anything that's certified from the Audubon Society is primo.

Amazon has a bunch of stuff from Audubon, and if you look at the descriptions of the houses, the hole sizes are specific to the type of bird you're attracting:

http://www.amazon.com/s/102-4796741-5897757?ie=UTF8&search-alias=garden&field-brandtextbin=Audubon

I also bought a feeder from these guys years back and they were good, and have a lot of supplies:

http://www.birds-n-garden.com/bird_houses.html


Kelly, you have Purple Martins?? WOW. That's awesome. Not something you see every day! Do you have one of those Purple Martin developments?

Message edited 4/28/2007 1:49:05 PM.

Re: Birds, nests and birdhouses

wow - I thought I saw an eagle on sunken meadow parkway - but thought it was my imagniation - I guess it wasn't!!


Good to know about sparrows and starlings - I made DH take down a nest that was in our soffet right near my window - they were driving me crazy! I think it was a sparrow nest - I felt a little guilty (although I made sure there weren't eggs in it) until I read this post.