Good information on house sparrows. www.sialis.org/...
"Without question the most deplorable event in the history of American ornithology was the introduction of the English Sparrow." -W.L. Dawson, The Birds of Ohio, 1903
This video shows the removal (by hunting) of English (House) Sparrows from a feeder for the purpose of creating a friendlier environment for native song birds. This method equals instant death for the birds in question - much better than poisoning or netting.
This was one of 4 trips I made to this location. By the end of the fourth trip, the English sparrow numbers were reduced significantly enough so that they no longer "swarmed" the feeder. Native song birds returned in healthy numbers. I estimated I shot around 200 in total (over the 4 days). I also tore sparrow nests out of the trees and barns. I hit 'em like a ton of bricks. And the result was that there were song birds all over that bird feeder at the end of day 4. (the video was filmed on day 3). I moved around this location, shooting at 3 or 4 "hot spots". This spot was just the easiest to film.
Equipment details:
The Camera Mount I used to record through the scope can be found here:
www.amazon.com...
The slow-motion camera I use to film the shots through the scope is the Casio EX-FC150. That camera is no longer made, but you can buy its successor (which is actually a better camera than the one I use) here:
www.amazon.com...
The Exact same Hawke Scope that I use in this video (Sidewinder TAC 30 6.5-20x) can be found here:
www.amazon.com...
Gun - Edgun Matador .22 PCP air rifle
Scope - Hawke Sidewinder 30 6.5-20x (video at 10x)
Pellets - JSB 18.1g shooting at 920 fps (34 ft/lbs energy)
[It goes without saying that] All birds were legally shot, and all are exotic species. I can't say this enough - if you have a problem with hunting do NOT watch this video. Friends can comment without approval. All others will be screened.
For those who do enjoy hunting...um....enjoy. :)
European house sparrows are an out-right plague on some farms. If left unchecked, their numbers swell out of control. They eat a lot of the livestock feed. But, what is worse is that they defecate in that feed. In this way, they can spread crippling disease very quickly to the animals.
Furthermore, these birds are quite aggressive and disrupt the nesting of tree cavity-nesting birds, such as Purple Martin, Eastern Bluebird, Carolina wren, and a variety of woodpeckers.
We not only shoot sparrows and starlings, we remove their nests and habitat (brush) as much as possible. Some folks think it doesn't make a difference. I can tell you that they are not trying hard enough. If you make life tough on these birds, they will find alternative areas to congregate.
Do a Google search on "House Sparrow" and you will find much information about the damage they cause. One thing I'm sure of is that if these birds were ugly like a rat, fewer people would be so quick to chastise me for blasting them.
2 окт 2024
