 |
Many people put up a bird house in their garden, then find that sparrows and starlings move in
rather than the desired species. Here are recommended practices to help ensure that bluebirds,
woodpeckers and chickadees establish themselves in your birdhouses.
1) Block the entrances to bird houses until you notice that the desires species have arrived in
your area. This may require that you remove nesting material left by the birds you don't want and
blocking off the entrance for a few days, then reopening it when the songbirds arrive.
2) Block off or place hardware cloth over nesting sites known to be used by starlings and house
sparrows.
3) Bird houses for songbirds should have holes no larger than 1-1/8 inch in diameter.
Larger holes will permit sparrows and starlings to enter.
4) House sparrows will avoid nesting boxes and bird houses within 4 feet of the ground. However,
nest boxes and bird houses this low are at risk from predator cats, raccoons and opossums.
More...
If you are a birder, you can find information on bird watching binoculars, scopes and tours here.