Anyone hate House Sparrows as much as me? (birders need not reply)

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NatureBoy

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I seriously HATE these birds. Every frickin morning, these little a-holes belt out the loudest chirps, OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!!

4:30 am in the morning, NON-STOP. I can't sleep without a pillow wrapped around my head. Woke me up, yet again, and I felt like posting my rant before I try to go back to sleep.

I know these pests aren't protected, so if I had it in me, and had some extra cash to spend on a high powered air rifle and scope, I'd take out each and every one of these things. But I don't, so I won't........

Someone wanna do it for me???? Or loan me their equipment??? :evil:
 
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SilverBear

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Nature Boy? :facepalm:

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kiefurs

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Oh my friend ....Just try to embrace nature.I have a load of House Sparrows and tree sparrows nesting in my garden ,and it gets light at 4.00am here in Scotland. I love to hear that sound , as well as all the other birds that are full of the joys of spring.

I'd surely rather hear the sparrows than the sound of cars, people talking,litter blowing around in the wind and folks mobile phones...Those things make my blood boil..

hey, I suppose we all have to be different, but thats just my view..But remember Karma...You start shooting ,they start sh***ing on your laundry and car!!!!:)

Keith
 
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NatureBoy

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I'd surely rather hear the sparrows than the sound of cars, people talking,litter blowing around in the wind and folks mobile phones...Those things make my blood boil..
Oh I get to hear all that too... my area seems to attract a ton of choppers with loud pipes along with trucks. People are obsessed with making their vehicles as loud as possible.
 

NatureBoy

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Kinda tickles me, someone with a screen name like NatureBoy who doesn't like birds, something so prevalent in NATURE!

I like lots of birds. The only birds I don't like are the ones that make annoying and obnoxious noises. Single tone extremely loud chirps are annoying. Crows that squawk are annoying. Bluejays with their shrill squawks and shrieks. Otherwise, I enjoy the pleasant songs emitted by other birds.

Sparrows are quite pervasive. They take over other birds nests, often killing hatchlings or destroying the eggs, they scare off other birds from bird feeders, etc. Trust me, I'm not the only one who doesn't like these birds.

FWIW, my board name doesn't mean what's implied. Not gonna get into it though... :)
 

SilverBear

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Bluejays with their shrill squawks and shrieks.

Sparrows ... scare off other birds from bird feeders, etc.

FWIW, my board name doesn't mean what's implied. Not gonna get into it though... :)


Bluejays have quite a vocabulary of sounds. We have dozens around the house (and they bring their offspring to the deck) because they know where the peanuts, sunflower seeds and corn on the cobs are.

The sparrows here (at our feeders) are pretty timid. Even the smallest of finches will make them scatter.

You're a nudist!!!
 

candik

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I like lots of birds. The only birds I don't like are the ones that make annoying and obnoxious noises. Single tone extremely loud chirps are annoying. Crows that squawk are annoying. Bluejays with their shrill squawks and shrieks. Otherwise, I enjoy the pleasant songs emitted by other birds.

Sparrows are quite pervasive. They take over other birds nests, often killing hatchlings or destroying the eggs, they scare off other birds from bird feeders, etc. Trust me, I'm not the only one who doesn't like these birds.

FWIW, my board name doesn't mean what's implied. Not gonna get into it though... :)

Are you sure you're talking about sparrows and not grackles? My sparrows are timid little things that scatter at the slightest movement or sound. They always yield at the feeders and I've yet to see them display any aggressive behavior. Grackles on the other hand, will strip my feeders bare in just a few minutes, chase and kill the smaller birds and gang up on the bigger ones! They congregate in masses (also known as plagues!) and make such a cacophony of noise I'm sure I'm in a remake of The Birds. They decorate every surface in my yard and sing their little hearts out with ear breaking whistles. They are a beautiful nuisance.

There are only 3 kinds of grackles commonly found in the US but there are about 15 kinds of sparrows. Maybe the ones you have are the thug sparrows? Little feathered gang bangers wrecking the hood...
 
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NatureBoy

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Are you sure you're talking about sparrows and not grackles? My sparrows are timid little things that scatter at the slightest movement or sound. They always yield at the feeders and I've yet to see them display any aggressive behavior. Grackles on the other hand, will strip my feeders bare in just a few minutes, chase and kill the smaller birds and gang up on the bigger ones! They congregate in masses (also known as plagues!) and make such a cacophony of noise I'm sure I'm in a remake of The Birds. They decorate every surface in my yard and sing their little hearts out with ear breaking whistles. They are a beautiful nuisance.

There are only 3 kinds of grackles commonly found in the US but there are about 15 kinds of sparrows. Maybe the ones you have are the thug sparrows? Little feathered gang bangers wrecking the hood...
Definitely not grackles, they're House/English Sparrows. I looked it up. They're not native to North America and are considered a pest by many. They're urban birds, commonly found on the ground hopping around looking for food, on restaurant patios, etc.

I didn't know they were considered a 'problem' until I looked up what this noisy little bird was. Then I found lots of people complaining about them scaring away songbirds from their feeders, destroying other birds nests (especially bluebirds).

Whatever. It was just a frustrated, sleepless rant. It's not like I'm going out on a murderous rampage taking them out one by one (though I do fantasize about it).

220px-House_Sparrow,_England_-_May_09.jpg
 

NatureBoy

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Tell me, do you really find this pleasing to listen to? Can you imagine this starting at 4:30am and going for hours on end? If you listen closely, you can actually hear a quieter song bird in the background.... but this little noisy ....... dominates anything else out there. To make matters worse, I only have single pane windows, so they don't do jack s to block the sound... hence I have to wrap my pillow around my head.

This is a recording I just took... the little ..... is flying from tree to tree.. it actually gets louder as it lands in the tree in my backyard. Crank your audio so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about... it isn't quiet.

http://youtu.be/i5rcwbykmQw
 
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Dave L

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I'm fond of birds. Except peacocks, which are noisy, dirty, stupid, destructive. I'm especially fond of crows which are as smart as 5-year-old children. Once I was waked up by an incredible din of sparrows. I looked outside and there were a hundred or more gathered in a circle on the lawn, just out of reach of a large snake. Birds are what remain of the dinosaurs. They aren't stupid, and they're not the joyful singers we sometimes think they are.
 

Dougiestyle

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There are ultrasonic pest deterrents on the market that emit a sound inaudible to humans. I dunno if they actually work or not, but sleep is worth $20 to me. Try one. Save the receipt. If they persist, return the gadget.

Farmers use aluminum pie pans on a string to deter birds, too. It's another sound altogether tho. Maybe the reflection and movement deter birds. Find out where they congregate and hang a pie pan.

Ironically, a pair of these birds built a nest in the spring wreath on our front door and laid 4 eggs. I gently relocated the wreath/habitat. Some other dbag bird kicked the eggs out.
 

DaveP

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I have a Barn Wren who has made her nest several years in my garage and the last two years in the newspaper tube on my brick mailbox. I drive up to the mailbox to pick up the paper and mail sometimes on the way in. I've learned to tap the paper and let her fly out. Otherwise, I put my hand on the paper and she flies out, brushes my hand with her wings, and flies into the side of my truck before changing direction to the Azaleas in the front yard! When I drive down the driveway I sometimes see her heading back to the newspaper tube. So far, the paper has been clean. The nest is in the back of the tube. ;)
 
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