House Sparrow Advice Sorely Needed
May 21, 2019
A reader writes:
I am a life-long bird lover (when I lived in a more "rural" part of Bergen County I used to buy bird seed by the 50 lb bag) and animal advocate.
I still remember years ago on new year's day when I looked out my dining room window; there were two evening grosbeaks on the small roof just outside. It is a wonderful memory.
However, I have a real dilemma, a problem that grows bigger with each passing year.
About four years ago a new neighbor moved in next door. They dismantled a bird house fixed on their garage that the sparrows used for years.
Now, as a result, the sparrows have relocated. I don't know exactly where their new quarters are, but they are around my house (I hope not inside it). They sit in the gutters on my roof and trees right near my house.
There are two trees whose branches are about three feet from my bedroom window. The birds start chirping at around 5:30 AM and don't stop until near dark.
When I say the noise is incessant, I am not exaggerating. It is constant, every minute. When I go out of my house they're sitting there (not one or two, but three and more) in the trees and on my roof top and in the gutters.
They have become a nuisance and a bit frightening, both with the noise and the constant flying about around my house. They have literally taken over my home. As you know, sparrows don't scare easily.
Last year when trying to figure out a way to resolve this I read that generally it's permitted to kill sparrows as they are considered a nuisance, but I would feel terrible doing that.
I just want them to leave my house. I hope you can offer some hope in remedying this situation and truly need your advice.