Sparrows took over the wren's nest!?! Upset and confused...

[veimar]

I was so happy to see that wrens had made their nest in a cute blue birdhouse I accidentally bought on clearance last year. I didn't expect birds to utilize this bird house and hanged it as a decoration on the garage wall. It was such a happy surprise for me. They were singing so beautifully all the time and came in and out the house for about two weeks! I had to cat-sit in Chicago for 10 days and when I came home I found out that the sparrows had taken their home over in the meanwhile! :11: I'm so upset… And the strangest thing is that it seems that there are babies already according to the sounds! How could that possibly happen in just about a week?!? Or are they feeding the wrens babies?! I've never seen anything like that before…

 

[veimar]

Oh, I forgot to add that my husband saw the wrens and sparrows fighting several times while I was away, but the wrens always seemed to chase the sparrows away.

 

[MikeyTN]

The incubation period varies depending on humidity, temperature, etc. It's around two weeks period so it's not surprising that they have chicks already. So is the sparrows in it now or is the wrens chasing them away still??? I posted in a post last year about baby wrens in the bird house I had put up for years and no birds ever used it until last year. I watched them hatch and fledge. They fledge a little over two weeks after hatching.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I truly HATE sparrows (+ Starlings) for that very reason. They are so obnoxious, always taking away native song birds' nests, and it's quite difficult to deter them.

Here is what's worked for me: Sparrows don't fit through all nest box openings. If you make your opening 7/8th inch, the Sparrows simply won't fit through.

"Some" sparrows are also discouraged if there isn't a perch in front of the nest entrance, even though they will learn to cope without it when desperate enough.

 

[thekarens]

I'm guessing you mean house sparrows and not all sparrows. House sparrows are pretty invasive and not native to the US.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I'm guessing you mean house sparrows and not all sparrows. House sparrows are pretty invasive and not native to the US.

Yes, European House Sparrows are the ones I despise. I adore Chipping and Song Sparrows, which are currently nesting in my yard (not in boxes though).

 

[veimar]

Yes these are house sparrows There is no perch on the front - although it is a real birdhouse I thought it was meant to be a decoration. It has been less then 10 days - could their eggs hatch THAT FAST??? :O

 

[MikeyTN]

They've might of been in there without you knowing! When the wren nested in the box I didn't even know she was using it until she freaked me out flying out of the box while I was near by. So I looked within, sure enough she had eggs within.

 

[BACON]

Send the house sparrows back. We've had them nesting in our house for the past 5/6 years but this year the starlings took over them all.

It's estimated that our house sparrow population has declined nearly 80% since the 60's


Sorry to crash the thread