Thread: How to get rid of Sparrows?

I bought a movement detector which connected to the garden hose in an attempt to keep the parrots off the lawn. When movement was detected it would activate the knocker sprinkler for three seconds. The instruction manual said it was effective in keeping deer, raccoons and squirrels off the lawn, didn't mention parrots though. It was useless at discouraging parrots but worked extremely well on the other vermin as we never ever saw a deer, raccoon or squirrel anywhere near the place.

Please not the 'mice bait' solution. Small things that get poisoned are usually eaten by owls or other larger birds which then die horribly.

Originally Posted by Boringgeoff

I bought a movement detector which connected to the garden hose in an attempt to keep the parrots off the lawn. When movement was detected it would activate the knocker sprinkler for three seconds. The instruction manual said it was effective in keeping deer, raccoons and squirrels off the lawn, didn't mention parrots though. It was useless at discouraging parrots but worked extremely well on the other vermin as we never ever saw a deer, raccoon or squirrel anywhere near the place.

I could use one of those. My deer and raccoon infestations are out of control.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Well the problem seems to be lessening. My shaking of the tree and hosing seems to be paying off. He goes silent as soon as I come out Even when he is on next door roof if I shake the tree he buzzes orf.

Maybe it's a breeding thing, but I would have thought that would be much earlier in the year. Maybe not.

What you are hearing is the males advertising call. In breeding season male sparrows choose a spot near a potential nesting site and call incessantly, hoping to attract a female.

House sparrows have to attract mates by calling, they dont have bright colours or elaborate feathers or fancy bowers etc.

Birds get a big injection of hormones just before breeding season and it can lead to some very fixated and even self-destructive behaviour. It can be hard to stop. We had a lovebird that would not stop trying to mate with the shower curtain rod - went on non-stop for weeks. Just so much hormone.

Breeding season is variable, but house sparrows can have up to 4 clutches in one season so I guess its still going on. Its probably a matter of as long as there are insects around in good numbers they will try to keep breeding.

Obviously, he's starting to back off a bit now though.

And on the owls/hawkes thing. These rarely work but people keep trying because of a common misconception. People think that if a predator is around the prey species would immediately leave the area (just like people would). In fact they dont. When photographing birds from a hide I have often seen goshawks and falcons (both hunters that specialise in small birds) fly into the area and settle down, and, after an initial ripple of exitement, the prey species generally carry on much as before. This is because the predators need an element of surprise to catch their prey, so once the predator has been noticed the advantage is lost and the prey species have very little to fear. Both parties know this so energy is not wasted trying to chase a bird that knows you are there. In fact, its probably safer to be in the presence of a predator that you can keep an eye on then it is to be somewhere where you never know where the predators are. This might be why many small birds nest in the presence of raptors.

I tried very hard with plastic snakes to get cockatoos from eating our citrus and destroying our cedar furniture. They made no difference. The problem is the world is full of long thin things which look like snakes but are not in fact snakes, and though we see the resemblence of a plastic snake to the real thing that is a learned response on our part which birds may not share. Maybe, to a bird, its not a snake without movement ?

In terms of how to stop the incessant calling, perhaps the best way is to look where he is calling from, anticipate what he thinks is the good potential nest site, and rearrange that so he has to find somewhere more attractive.

cheers
Arron

Birds get a big injection of hormones just before breeding season...

Where can I get these injections?

Originally Posted by AlexS

Where can I get these injections?

Try a vet. We still have the curtain rod if you want it.

20 gauge with 7.5 shot, if its good enough for clay pigeons, then its good enough for sparrows.

Sparrows aren't native to Australia and are deemed a pest.

But this is only good for rural areas, unless you want to spend time behind a bird cage

Sparrows are a regular on the menu in Lebanon and Syria. They also eat them, or used to, in France, England, Russia and probably heaps of other European countries.
Plenty of recipes on the internet. Could be one of the options for the next GTG

Also wouldn't bother with the owl, unless you can get a trained one.
We had a magpie and pee wee problem. Up to 20 of them would eat the cat food every day. My cats were raised with a pet magpie so they were trained not to attack black and white birds.
The plastic owl worked for about 2 days till they worked out it wouldn't attack them. Tried CDs on strings as well. That didn't work either. The CDs were more effective if you fired them at the birds like shuriken

Originally Posted by NCArcher

Plenty of recipes on the internet. Could be one of the options for the next GTG

Pass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sparrows are an endangered species Where have the sparrows gone? | Newcastle Herald so you should be grateful you have the noisy little blighter.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Sparrows are an endangered species Where have the sparrows gone? | Newcastle Herald so you should be grateful you have the noisy little blighter.

The author of the piece is a twit (and no doubt on Twitter):
"an inoffensive little bird, unlike the aggressive, strutting Indian myna."

The ones around here sure aren't inoffensive.

Any introduced species is going to cause problems, one way or another, and Australia is littered with way too many feral species of all types of animals. Sparrows would have an impact on small native birds who have to compete with them for food, amongst other things.

You could make a few rattlesnake walking sticks like this dude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PPr1xmiVx0

Quoting from the Birds in Backyards website:
"Although the introduction of the House Sparrow was deliberate , and welcomed by many people, it quickly became a major pest, and a reward was paid by the government for the birds and their eggs. Today, the species is so well established in the east that no amount of effort will exterminate the ever-expanding population. The birds however have so far been prevented from establishing themselves in Western Australia, with every bird observed being deliberately destroyed."

When I was a kid, .177 and kids meant very few sparrows to be found.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Today, the species is so well established in the east that no amount of effort will exterminate the ever-expanding population

Apparently this was despite my best efforts as a teenager with an air rifle. Talk about a misspent youth. And I know I was not the only one.

Cheers

Doug