What? Fishing Line Helps Birds?!

Fishing line and birds usually is not a good combination. That is why I usually remove it when I find it hanging in trees where people have been fishing and have lost their bobbers and line in the trees. However, recently, a House Sparrow attacked one of the nesting Tree Swallows in her nest box. Sadly, House Sparrows are vicious when it comes to other birds. House Sparrows are an introduced species in this country; a species which has become invasive. What this means for native birds is that the House Sparrow will attack, and often kill native nesting birds, along with their young. House Sparrows will destroy other species' eggs as well.

House Sparrows are often found where there is human activity, such as around park shelters. When people feed them, they become more aggressive and more loyal to the area. They will harass and attack the native birds, in an attempt to out-compete for territory.

There are several ways of deterring House Sparrows, one of which is pictured above. Fishing line, again, usually a no-no around birds, is attached to the nest box and weighted down, hence the washers hanging from the sides of the nest box pictured above. No one is certain why this deters House Sparrows, but it seems to "spook" them, keeping them out of the box long enough for the birds using the box to fledge their young.

Pictured above is another way of deterring House Sparrows. It is known as a "sparrow spooker." The strips of mylar are blowing in the breeze; this seems to spook the sparrows, again keeping them out of the box long enough for native birds to fledge their young. In this case, monofilament is also hung from the sides of the box, offering more spookiness. Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows usually readily accept these protective measures. It may be that their vision is better as they are mainly insectivores, rather than seed eaters as are the House Sparrows. Once these deterrents are installed, I watch to make certain that the native birds using the box will go into the box, letting me know that they will continue to use the box.

Time will tell how successful these measures will be. If you are in the park and see House Sparrows, please do not feed them. See the photos below to learn what House Sparrows look like:

 Male House Sparrow 

Female House Sparrow

Photo credit: Sialis.org