I wage a major battle against house sparrows and starlings each year as
I try to provide nest space for purple martins near Shilshole marina in
Ballard; I haven't seen sparrows bother with the nest boxes beyond late
August, but I've found starlings in the boxes at night in February. The
sparrows are quite tenacious, I agree. Many times I had to climb a 20
foot ladder to tear out the sparrow nests, seal the boxes, and hope the
martins come back later. Then I re-open the boxes.
I would be quite surprised if yours were trying to breed, the species is
too successful to be so foolish; but then again, this is a big el Nino
year!
Good luck with your swallows and chickadees.

Check out our lakes web page!
http://splash.metrokc.gov/wlr/waterres/lakes/index.htm

Kevin Li
King County Environmental Lab
322 W. Ewing St.
Seattle, WA 98119-1507

Mail Stop: LAB

(206) 684-2344
(206) 684-2395 fax
kevin.li at metrokc.gov
>----------
>From: Marlene Penry[SMTP:mpenry at compuserve.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 1997 4:39 PM
>To: Tweeters
>Subject: House Sparrows Breeding?
>
>Hi Tweeters,
>
>I have a swallow/chickadee house in my yard that, no matter
>how diligent I tried to be, was inhabited by House Sparrows this
>year. Yesterday, I swear I saw a couple of these guys hanging
>out and going in the box. Could they still (again) be breeding
>or are they just looking for a warm winter spot?
>
>Marlene Penry
>Seattle, WA
>mpenry at compuserve.com
>