Dear tweeters,

Some years ago my father made a gift to me of a Nature Store bird box, the type meant to serve chickadees and other cavity nesters. Despite my suspicion that the chickadees make use of a topped but still living cedar next door for nesting purposes, I put it up last year. It was promptly commandeered by a house sparrow, who built a very nice nest of green moss and white cat hair--a credit to that diligent sparrow who plucked enough white cat hair from the various burrows beneath the bushes to line a box.

If I were to narrow the entrance hole, what size would deter a house sparrow but still welcome the chickadee?

Wallis
Stevens neighborhood/Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle

P.S. Aphelocoma californica has now spent its second winter in our neighborhood.
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