Luring in English house sparrows - what's a good seed to use?

This is what I use.

Hill Country Fare Wild Bird Seed (Last bag I got was on sale for $7.77.) I put a cup of feed in the feeder every morning. Hosp's usually go for the millet in it.
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/hill-country-fare-wild-bird-seed/2023494

Morning Song Trail Mix for Songbirds
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/morning-song-trail-mix-for-songbirds/664501

You can mix the two together or use half & half.

Pennington Blue Cedar Platform Bird Feeder – $11.99
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pennington-Blue-Cedar-Platform-Bird-Feeder/1000106947

I got the stand for it at Dollar General for $5.00. You can put some feed on the ground if you like. Every kind of bird in your vicinity will be crowding the feeder.

This is what I use.

Hill Country Fare Wild Bird Seed (Last bag I got was on sale for $7.77.) I put a cup of feed in the feeder every morning. Hosp's usually go for the millet in it.
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/hill-country-fare-wild-bird-seed/2023494

Morning Song Trail Mix for Songbirds
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/morning-song-trail-mix-for-songbirds/664501

You can mix the two together or use half & half.

Pennington Blue Cedar Platform Bird Feeder – $11.99
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pennington-Blue-Cedar-Platform-Bird-Feeder/1000106947

I got the stand for it at Dollar General for $5.00. You can put some feed on the ground if you like. Every kind of bird in your vicinity will be crowding the feeder.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Longfellow, I've since read that they like white millet.

Click to expand...

You're welcome.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/WHITE-MILLET/32902238

Any song bird mix with sun flower chips will work. OR just some white bread crumbs on the ground. Bird feeders are good for other birds, if you only want to target house sparrows then some white bread crumb is more than enough, they are nice with wings after all. They like to forage on the ground. 

Any song bird mix with sun flower chips will work. OR just some white bread crumbs on the ground.

Click to expand...

Yeah, every time a loaf of bread gets down to the 2 heels, I crumble them up for the birds. If a hosp (or a pigeon) goes for the crumbs, I shoot it.

They seem to like the crap out of my chicken scratch. But I don’t put that in feeders they just come in after the chickens fill up. 

now I have a question do they prefer a certain type of feeder? 

I’ve been putting out bird seed for over a year now. I cannot attract English sparrows. I hardly even get starlings. I can drive less than a block from my house and I see them all over. 
good luck 

They seem to like the crap out of my chicken scratch. But I don’t put that in feeders they just come in after the chickens fill up. 

now I have a question do they prefer a certain type of feeder?

Click to expand...

I have no idea what the most effective feeder is: (DARN good question, Btw); but, this is the one I use. Hanging from a stand about 4 feet up. (None of the other birds or squirrels have ever complained).

Pennington Blue Cedar Platform Bird Feeder – $11.99
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pennington-Blue-Cedar-Platform-Bird-Feeder/1000106947

I also use this type of bird feeder. Again, hanging from a stand although one of them is hanging from a hook on my front porch.

Cedar Tray Wild Bird Feeder Fresh Seed Tray
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Nature-s-Way-Bird-Products-Cedar-Tray-Wild-Bird-Feeder-Fresh-Seed-Tray-WWCF23/206114086

Any song bird mix with sun flower chips will work. OR just some white bread crumbs on the ground.

Click to expand...

Yeah, every time a loaf of bread gets down to the 2 heels, I crumble them up for the birds. If a hosp (or a pigeon) goes for the crumbs, I shoot it.

Click to expand...

or mice or rats, only pests seemed to be really attracted to bread crumbs in the ground. 


burds are messy eaters so no matter what feeder you get they will drop everything everywhere and house sparrows and pigeons/doves are always found right under the feeder. 

For me, the combination of the leftover chicken scratch from our chickens, a feeder with black oil sunflower seeds, and a suet cake feeder (peanut treat suet cake works best in my experience) seem to work perfect for me. I have starlings and English sparrows every morning to "mingle with" over coffee!

I run multiple bird feeders year round. HOSP's prefer a slightly elevated feeding area. say a flat board 3-4 feet off the ground. The native sparrows like the ground better. Duncraft fancy finch mix REALLY brings them in. bad part is it is expensive. shelled sunflower seed and peanut bits will bring in starlings as well as song birds and pigeons. In order to get a "revolving door of visits" you need to invest in daily feedings. takes a few days average to key in on it , but they will come. this will bring in squirrels also- BIG TIME.

Any song bird mix with sun flower chips will work. OR just some white bread crumbs on the ground.

Click to expand...

Yeah, every time a loaf of bread gets down to the 2 heels, I crumble them up for the birds. If a hosp (or a pigeon) goes for the crumbs, I shoot it.

Click to expand...

or mice or rats, only pests seemed to be really attracted to bread crumbs in the ground. 


burds are messy eaters so no matter what feeder you get they will drop everything everywhere and house sparrows and pigeons/doves are always found right under the feeder.

Click to expand...

I rarely eat white bread, (except for hamburger / hot dog buns). For me, its whole wheat and/or rye or pumpernickel (whenever I smoke a ham). The birds haven't complained about my bread choices. The cats in my neighborhood take care of mice/rats. And yeah, I have to rinse off the feeders every now & then for their droppings. I wish they would be kind enough to do it where my plants are. *Sighs*

When I was a young fella we would get a penny for a sparrow head from the council. My dad showed me how to make a trap that would clean out the sparrows in our proximity in a couple of days. Saved me lots of rubbers bands in my ging.

Its easy to make, about 4 feet square, about 8 inches high, on the top cut a hole in the middle about 8 inches in diameter to fit a funnel. The funnel should finish about 2 inches from the bottom. The whole trap is made out of bird wire, funnel included, preferably the small round variety used in aviaries. Sprinkle some bread crumbs around the outer inside perimeter of the trap. It will fill up with sparrows in no time. The majority of them don’t think of going back to the middle to escape.

Saves on a lot of pellets but you may from time to time catch other species depending on your sparrow infestation.

Gary

Chicken scratch is all you need , You can get a 50lb bag for about 10 bucks, Put out about a pound a day and you will have every known pest of man coming to your place,

Mike

Another way of attraction that works,, is to hang a birdhouse made for a smaller species bird, like wrens or chickadee, a house with a smaller hole that sparrows can't fit through..... the sparrows being territorial ,, will hang around and annoy / bully the smaller specie trying to use the house, making for easily sniped "identified" targets.

I buy the cheap bird food in bulk from Rural King. I built a ground feeder. 2x4s fastened together to make a 2' square. Cover the top with 1/4" wire mesh, then window screen atop the mesh. The feeder sits 3 1/2" above the ground. The screen allows rain to run through, and the mesh supports the screen if squirrels or raccoons sit on it. I've found once the grass grows through the screen, more hosps visit. I keep the grass low using a scissors, but the grass gives them a false sense of security.

Several years ago my father complained about the HOSP's wrecking his garden. I got a bag of shelled sunflower seeds and spread them around the garden, then spent the weekend at his house. I got 126 sparrows from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. Don't know if it was a fluke, but worth a try!