June 2018: House Sparrows and Snakes -- Oh, my!June Summary Report by Renate Chapman
Published July 11, 2018
Things have taken a turn for the worse - now House Sparrows have become not just a nuisance, but predators!
We do have one newly active Bluebird box - one that has been cleared out by a snake before. So I went back to that box and snipped off the smooth edge of the wire guard, which was not as hard as I had feared. And I slightly bent the prongs down or outward, hoping that would really deter snakes, without endangering the Bluebirds. Unfortunately, nobody seems to know what to do about the House Sparrows, which by now have begun to kill nestlings.
What kind of snakes did I find in boxes? I saw one looking out of the box; its head looked almost like a tree swallow, light throat, dark bluish above. The other snake, approximately ¾ of an inch in diameter, was coiled all around itself totally inside the box. It seemed to be many shades of tan. I did not see it until I opened the box; it tried to get out but I slammed the door shut on it. Somehow eventually it contorted itself out. The box was empty next time I checked.
Published July 11, 2018
Things have taken a turn for the worse - now House Sparrows have become not just a nuisance, but predators!
We do have one newly active Bluebird box - one that has been cleared out by a snake before. So I went back to that box and snipped off the smooth edge of the wire guard, which was not as hard as I had feared. And I slightly bent the prongs down or outward, hoping that would really deter snakes, without endangering the Bluebirds. Unfortunately, nobody seems to know what to do about the House Sparrows, which by now have begun to kill nestlings.
What kind of snakes did I find in boxes? I saw one looking out of the box; its head looked almost like a tree swallow, light throat, dark bluish above. The other snake, approximately ¾ of an inch in diameter, was coiled all around itself totally inside the box. It seemed to be many shades of tan. I did not see it until I opened the box; it tried to get out but I slammed the door shut on it. Somehow eventually it contorted itself out. The box was empty next time I checked.
