Dirt Cheap: Keeping House Sparrows out of Bluebird Boxes

This has been the Year of the Bluebird.

First I had to figure out how to mount a bluebird box. Out of all the things you can Google, finding instructions that I understood on how to actually get the box to attach to the pole was not an easy task! Especially considering my tutorial uses such lofty language as thingamajigger and handy-dandy connector...

I was ecstatic when I discovered sweet baby bluebird eggs in the box.

And then crushed when they were kicked out by house sparrows.

House sparrows (HOSP) are nasty little enemies of bluebirds! They will not only kick out the bluebirds, but often kill them. I found a ton of helpful information at Sialis about recognizing a HOSP attack on bluebirds. (Warning: The house sparrows are not kind to the bluebirds...I had to skim past some of the info on this page because it was pretty yucky)

"Without question the most deplorable event in the history of American ornithology
 was the introduction of the English Sparrow."
-W.L. Dawson, The Birds of Ohio, 1903

Since house sparrows are not protected in any way, we removed their nest. I kept an eye on the box - I was going to take it down if they kept building nests in there. Within a few days the tree swallows found it, and so I was glad enough to let them have it, although I did miss seeing the bluebirds.

To my surprise, a few weeks ago the male bluebird kept flying in to the garden. (And very much kept watching me as if to say, "Get on with it, lady!") The baby swallows were all out of the nest, so we cleaned the box again. Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird again took up residence, but this time I was prepared.

Anti-House Sparrow your Bluebird Box

1. Take four eye screws (I think that is what they are called anyway) and put them in a rectangle shape around the entrance hole. The exact placement may differ depending on your bluebird box design

.2. Scavenge some heavy fishing line and thread it through the holes, tying it down securely. Just make sure that you can still open the box! :) It's okay if the line is slightly overlapping the entrance hole.

3. I also added an eye screw on each side of the roof, threaded more line through, and tied the other end to a small metal nut. If you don't add the nut as a weight, the line could potentially get tangled inside the box and pose a threat to the nestlings.

The house sparrows are supposedly spooked off by the fishing line...who knew fishing line was so scary? This method is not 100% foolproof, but I am happy to show this off:

I've been keeping an eagle eye out on the box, and can only hope the anti-sparrow-contraption will continue to work its magic until these babies are off on their own!