House sparrows

House sparrows start breeding very early in the spring.

They easily have time to raise three (3) broods.

Tree swallows raise only one brood per season.

When should the pendulum nest box be put up?

Just before the first tree swallows arrive.

Where should the pendulum nest box be placed?

In general, it can be fixed just about anywhere, as long as it is safe from predators. Above all, the nest box must be placed at a height that will make it easy to work on. Whether you decide to put it on a pole or right on a window frame, make sure it is within reach. You will only be more successful.

Photo: PaulFavreau

The sparrow problem is everywhere in North America. While Europeans worry about the decline of their house sparrow population, here in Quebec we still find them far too numerous, tormenting our tree swallows.

OH, THOSE SPARROWS!

At the risk of upsetting those who feed them all winter long, house sparrows are a real calamity once spring arrives. Since they have spent the winter with us, they are the first to want to multiply. And how! They manage to breed up to three times in the same season (sometimes four).

Naturally, they take over most of the boxes meant for tree swallows. Not only do they nest in the same kind of cavity, but they wage a fierce battle against the tree swallows.

We know how it ends. If the poor tree swallow is caught at the bottom of her nest, certain death follows. And the sparrow builds a new nest right over the mutilated body. When the parents have managed to escape, it is the nestlings that are pecked to death.

How many times have you witnessed this horror without being able to do anything about it? Well, we have found a solution, for you and above all for the tree swallows: a simple pendulum hung on the front of the nest box.

A pendulum is a tool that tips over when the sparrow tries to pass through it.

A simple pendulum hung on the front of a nest box protects tree swallows throughout the whole nesting season.

The short time the sparrow takes to pass through the pendulum is enough to tip it over. The tree swallow, on the other hand, takes it in stride.

There are two good reasons why the tree swallow passes through a pendulum with ease:

- First, her agility; the sparrow has much less of it.

- Second, her weight (the tree swallow weighs 21 grams, the sparrow 30).