House sparrows - consistent chirping

ando · 15-05-2019 12:01pm #1

Hi,

We have a few noisy house sparrows after making I believe a nest up high in the gutters, just out of sight. Anyone have experience with moving these birds along?? I can't easily get up to the roof, I'd most likely have to rent a scissor lift to get access to where the birds are, so I'm looking for other solutions! I've seen fake owls on Amazon but don't know how effective these are?

magicbastarder · 15-05-2019 12:13pm

if it's a nest, it's illegal to interfere with it. they should fledge soon enough though.

Dial Hard · 15-05-2019 12:26pm

Be thankful it's only sparrows and not starlings.

As MB has said, you can't interfere with the nest now, you have to wait til the chicks are fledged. You may just have to suck it up and rent the scissor lift. Can you call into your neighbours and see if they're having the same issue and would be willing to split the cost? Both we and the house next door had starlings three years in a row up to last year. Cherry picker was the only option for us due to the height of the houses/position of fences etc. We kept putting it off due to the expense but last year we all finally cracked and coughed up once the chicks had fledged. Best money we ever spent.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 15-05-2019 2:12pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

if it's a nest, it's illegal to interfere with it. they should fledge soon enough though.

All I 'd add is that it probably won't stop soon, as they can have three clutches and there's possibly more than one nest. It goes on here until late August but we don't mind them - and ours is a bungalow.

D3V!L · 15-05-2019 2:13pm

We have the same problem . Just have to wait it out unfortunately.

Hurrache · 15-05-2019 2:16pm

Are they definitely sparrows and not house martins? House martins are more adept at flying up and around gutters and eaves to build nests, and it's at this time they nest and start their families. Either way, you have to leave them there and enjoy their singing.

Ulmus · 15-05-2019 2:21pm

It's the male sparrow who makes the constant chirping. You'd be making a great contribution to wildlife conservation if you could live with the chirping as house sparrows are not as numerous as they used to be. Please reconsider.

magicbastarder · 15-05-2019 2:25pm

JeffKenna wrote: »

Deleted by Mod and poster banned for promoting illegal actions.

apart from the stupidity (and criminality) of shooting the birds, you'd be asking the OP to shoot their own gutter.

OpenYourEyes · 15-05-2019 3:31pm

Mod Note: A poster that advised the OP take an illegal course of action to resolve this problem has been banned.

aj89 · 15-05-2019 3:41pm

Dial Hard wrote: »

Be thankful it's only sparrows and not starlings.

As MB has said, you can't interfere with the nest now, you have to wait til the chicks are fledged. You may just have to suck it up and rent the scissor lift. Can you call into your neighbours and see if they're having the same issue and would be willing to split the cost? Both we and the house next door had starlings three years in a row up to last year. Cherry picker was the only option for us due to the height of the houses/position of fences etc. We kept putting it off due to the expense but last year we all finally cracked and coughed up once the chicks had fledged. Best money we ever spent.

Excuse my ignorance, but why is it better that its sparrows and not starlings?

I noticed a starling fly into a gap in my porch roof the other evening. It has explained where the chirping was coming from and i don't mind it at all.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 15-05-2019 4:00pm

aj89 wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance, but why is it better that its sparrows and not starlings?

I noticed a starling fly into a gap in my porch roof the other evening. It has explained where the chirping was coming from and i don't mind it at all.

Starlings leave a considerable mess below their access point to the nests, while House Sparrows don't. In addition Starlings often gain access to attic spaces and can get stuck and die there, leaving a bit of a smell if nothing else.

Mundo7976 · 15-05-2019 4:03pm

Jacoby Sparse Shoe wrote: »

Starlings leave a considerable mess below their access point to the nests, while House Sparrows don't. In addition Starlings often gain access to attic spaces and can get stuck and die there, leaving a bit of a smell if nothing else.

And are infinitely noisier than sparrows

Dial Hard · 16-05-2019 11:03am

Mundo7976 wrote: »

And are infinitely noisier than sparrows

This is where I was coming from.

ando · 16-05-2019 12:38pm

Thanks for advise. I think the first round of chicks have fledged/gone. Is there a period of time between rounds that its legal to remove the nest and block access before they come back for round 2?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 16-05-2019 4:43pm

ando wrote: »

Thanks for advise. I think the first round of chicks have fledged/gone. Is there a period of time between rounds that its legal to remove the nest and block access before they come back for round 2?

It's unlikely to be a single nest and that all are empty at the same time. They have been known to start a second clutch the day after the first has fledged.

16-05-2019 8:48pm

Jacoby Sparse Shoe wrote: »

Starlings leave a considerable mess below their access point to the nests, while House Sparrows don't. In addition Starlings often gain access to attic spaces and can get stuck and die there, leaving a bit of a smell if nothing else.

Can attest to this, currently have a very noisy group of starlings nesting in my gutters. They've the driveway ruined, can't park my car in it anymore as it'll be left looking like a painter's radio.

Odelay · 16-05-2019 9:12pm

They are very determined re-nesters. Once they have had a successful brood, they will return the next year. If access is blocked, they will go down chimneys to find a route back the the successful nesting site. That is my experience.

Cushtie · 16-05-2019 9:22pm

I have starlings in the dormers since we built the house 10 years ago. Coming in a small gap between the flashing and side of dormer.

I swear at times you would think they are moving furniture up there!!! Every bloody year I swear I'm going to sort it but once they are gone I forget.

lordgoat · 16-05-2019 9:33pm

We all live in the world. They take up a tiny amount of space.

OpenYourEyes · 18-05-2019 11:37am

Odelay wrote: »

They are very determined re-nesters. Once they have had a successful brood, they will return the next year. If access is blocked, they will go down chimneys to find a route back the the successful nesting site. That is my experience.

You can get nestboxes that they'll take to readily - if they're coming back to the same house, and the old hole is blocked, a suitable nestbox will definitely be their second option and they won't bother with chimneys or seeking out any more holes etc in the roof/eaves.

the_pen_turner · 18-05-2019 12:07pm

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

You can get nestboxes that they'll take to readily - if they're coming back to the same house, and the old hole is blocked, a suitable nestbox will definitely be their second option and they won't bother with chimneys or seeking out any more holes etc in the roof/eaves.

How close would they need to be. We have loads of the buggers. Would it need to be beside the old hole.
Could you then move it somewhere more out of the way , would they find it 50 feet away

OpenYourEyes · 18-05-2019 2:58pm

the_pen_turner wrote: »

How close would they need to be. We have loads of the buggers. Would it need to be beside the old hole.
Could you then move it somewhere more out of the way , would they find it 50 feet away

They should find it 50 feet away alright! By blocking up the hole you'll be causing them to look elsewhere, and 50 feet isn't too much in the grand scheme of things!

(just to highlight and reiterate - block hole once they're finished nesting and do all this in advance of future nesting attempts)

the_pen_turner · 18-05-2019 3:04pm

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

They should find it 50 feet away alright! By blocking up the hole you'll be causing them to look elsewhere, and 50 feet isn't too much in the grand scheme of things!

(just to highlight and reiterate - block hole once they're finished nesting and do all this in advance of future nesting attempts)

what kind of birds would this work for. we seem to have a great selection
what kind of boxs should be used, pesumably they ae diferent for diferent birds

i dont want to bring in more birds just relocate the ones we have

House sparrows - consistent chirping

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