Nest box attack??

Stuart Philpott

Stuart Philpott

Messages
4,276
Name
Stu
Edit My Images
Yes
Guys like so many of us we pop a few boxes around our hovel for the birds to nest in. My lady heard something going on this morning the "appletree" bluetits were screaming at something in their nest box.. She went down aware that something was going on and to her shock a house sparrow came out of the box followed by both blue tit parents.. The bluetits have actually choosen a box I hoped great tits would use so I made the hole a tad bigger, obviously big enough for a house sparra to access. I'm stunned by this hence thread

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before ? it's completely new to me !!

Many thanks for any thoughts..........................
take care :)
stu
 
I can't recall reading about such bird species interaction.

Having said that nesting spaces can be at a premium so surmise that such disputes will and do happen. Though AFAIK sparrows normally nest communally........so why was it investigating a 'single' nest box.

So hopefully just a spat and the Blue Tits will breed aok and the sparrow will look elsewhere :)
 
I can't recall reading about such bird species interaction.

Having said that nesting spaces can be at a premium so surmise that such disputes will and do happen. Though AFAIK sparrows normally nest communally........so why was it investigating a 'single' nest box.

So hopefully just a spat and the Blue Tits will breed aok and the sparrow will look elsewhere :)
 
Certainly still have kids in the box buddy :) can hear 'em, a few days and smell will tell more. ie if there's loss.

Yes house spadger is a communal nester extended family colony type of bird, I'm pretty sure the males dominance in said family group is represented by the amount of black on their throat.

Laurence I simply wonder about predation, the box isn't suitable as a nest site to them ,IMVHO. They need a big place to nest I've seen 2 big bin liners of hay pulled from an old building being refurbed. put there by these birds ....................... my guts instinct is high protien food for baby house sparrows ???? Which sort of doesn't add up for a seed eater but one wonders on how all this rain and cold might impact a parent's behaviour

.I've not researched anything, I'm utterly clueless mate ,it's just something incredibly unusual to me/ us ..

You might be right buddy I sort of think of one look in a hole as being enough to rule out a house sparrow nest site it squeezing in and staying a while is puzzling.

cheers for the reply ya good bud?
 
Stuart Philpott said:
Guys like so many of us we pop a few boxes around our hovel for the birds to nest in. My lady heard something going on this morning the "appletree" bluetits were screaming at something in their nest box.. She went down aware that something was going on and to her shock a house sparrow came out of the box followed by both blue tit parents.. The bluetits have actually choosen a box I hoped great tits would use so I made the hole a tad bigger, obviously big enough for a house sparra to access. I'm stunned by this hence thread

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before ? it's completely new to me !!

Many thanks for any thoughts..........................
take care :)
stu
Click to expand...

Maybe of interest Stu :)

ww2.rspb.org.uk

Why are sparrows attacking blue tits and preventing them from entering their nestbox?

ww2.rspb.org.uk ww2.rspb.org.uk
 
Thanks Roger that adds up .............. (y) I liked 'em more before I knew about this nest box lark:( , I've seen the feeder hoggin
 
Last year we put up a new nest box, which we thought was suitable for blue tits.

Earlier this year a pair of blue tits showed an interest and started bringing in nesting material.

Then a pair of local sparrows turned up. I think the hole was a bit too large but even so the sparrow had to squeeze to get in. The end result was the house sparrows have ousted the blue tits and we think they are raising a brood.

Dave

Recently another another bird has shown an interest in the box, unfortunately for the sparrows that bird is a great spotted woodpecker.
 
Thanks for the replies lads.
Laurence of the smaller birds it's the robins that I always felt were the bossy ones, live and learn buddy !!

David that's very interesting my hunches are wrong about where a sparrow wants to nest it seems. ha QED. I'm aware of what GWS are capable of, but house sparrows being like this is all new to me.

We have lived here alongside them for so long ,...every day's a school day with mum nature (y)
 
Tringa said:
Last year we put up a new nest box, which we thought was suitable for blue tits.

Earlier this year a pair of blue tits showed an interest and started bringing in nesting material.

Then a pair of local sparrows turned up. I think the hole was a bit too large but even so the sparrow had to squeeze to get in. The end result was the house sparrows have ousted the blue tits and we think they are raising a brood.

Dave

Recently another another bird has shown an interest in the box, unfortunately for the sparrows that bird is a great spotted woodpecker.
Click to expand...


Amazon.co.uk : bird box protection plates should stop the woodies enlarging the hole. As you'll see from the choices, there are plenty of different sized holes to suit different species and deter others.
 
hashcake said:
They say every day is a school day, I had no idea that Sparrows can be aggressive.
Click to expand...

yes on feeders but the nest boxes, i'm pretty sure all the blue tit kids are no more,sadly. Whether that is a direct consequence of the awful breeding season blue tits are having this year, or the sparrow antics i'll never know Spadger didn't help that's for sure !!
 
Sparrows are highly aggressive: imported into America, they kill native birds like the bluebird.
 
Nod said:
Amazon.co.uk : bird box protection plates should stop the woodies enlarging the hole. As you'll see from the choices, there are plenty of different sized holes to suit different species and deter others.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen the woodpecker again so I'm leaving the box until breeding is finished. I'll check the size of the hole then and get a plate if it is too large.

Thanks

Dave
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nod
We have house sparrows and they have gradually taken over all the nest boxes in the garden. The two that were supposed to have blue tit sized entrances are no problems for the spadgers. A bit of a squeeze at first but no problem when you get used to it! No actual aggression seen though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top