![]() In theory, you could design a larger PVC pipe-style nest box to suit mountain bluebirds, but this would then get rid of the smaller nest cavity, which seems to be one of the features that deters house sparrows in the first place. The smaller nest cavity would not be preferable in mountain bluebird territory or in areas where mountain and western bluebirds overlap. Since Gilbertson nest boxes are on the smaller side, they work best for Eastern Bluebirds. (3) Sparrows also seem to not prefer the PVC pipe material that the nest box is made from. (1) The shallow drop from the entrance hole to the nest box floor and (2) the relatively small nesting cavity are unattractive to house sparrows. Gilbertson boxes seem to work against house sparrows for a few reasons. Each of these factors is helpful in deterring house sparrows. These nest boxes are in the shape of a cylinder instead of a traditional box, they’re made out of PVC pipe, they have a relatively shallow nesting cavity (the distance from the entrance hole to the floor isn’t too deep), and they have a smaller total area in the nesting cavity as well (only 4″ in diameter). ![]() The Gilbertson Bluebird Houseįirst on my list of sparrow-resistant bluebird houses is the Gilbertson PVC pipe-style bluebird house. 3 “sparrow-resistant” nest box designs (the pros and cons of each) #1. In this audio guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about attracting bluebirds in just 59 minutes and 38 seconds.Ĭheck out the Bluebird Landlord Audio Guide here. If you want to attract bluebirds to your yard THIS YEAR, the best place to start is the Bluebird Landlord Audio Guide. So, if something seems to work, it’s worth trying! None of these features mentioned above can completely keep house sparrows from entering or using a bluebird house, but they’ve been shown to be effective on some level at deterring house sparrows. Since entrance hole size alone can’t completely make a bluebird house “sparrow-resistant,” are there any features that work? While there aren’t yet any features that completely deter house sparrows from bluebird houses, horizontal slot entrances, shallow nest cavities, and nest boxes which allow light to enter the cavity have all been proven to deter house sparrows on some level. Other features that could potentially deter house sparrows I covered round entrance holes, oval holes, and slot entrances. In another article I wrote, I went through the proper entrance hole size for each species of bluebirds. So, putting a small entrance hole on a nest box can’t be an effective strategy for creating a sparrow-resistant bluebird house. Since sparrows are smaller than bluebirds, if you were to design a nest box with an entrance hole that was too small for house sparrows to enter, unfortunately, the nest box would also exclude bluebirds.įor example, eastern bluebirds need an entrance hole that is at least 1 1/2 inches in diameter, while the smaller house sparrows can enter through holes as small as 1 3/16 inches in diameter. Entrance hole size: What would it take? Photo by ibm4381 is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Let’s take a look at these two characteristics to see if it’s even possible for a bluebird house to fit the bill.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |