Hello and some red tape

Greetings from Savannah.

As a new resident here in Savannah, I immediately set about putting up a few nesting boxes on my postage stamp sized lot and added a feeder.

So far so good... Lot's of natives at the feeder. The starlings are trying to get into the boxes but I've made the openings small. Had a pair of Carolina Chickadees call one home until this morning and the carnage began...

Having kept my area clean of the pests in a more rural setting with hot lead (well actually a well placed .177 cal pellet) I can not safely do that here. So I looked into alternative methods of control. Being handy with tools I looked into building traps but before I did, these traps once set would be in view of neighbors and I'm sure the questions would be coming.

I did some research and came across the City of Savannah's ordnance:

Sec 9-5003. Protection Of Birds.
The entire area embraced within the corporate limits of the city is hereby
designated as a bird sanctuary; and it shall be unlawful to trap, hunt, shoot or attempt to
shoot or molest in any manner any bird or wild fowl or to rob bird nests or wild fowl
nests in such sanctuary; provided, however, that if pigeons, starlings or similar birds are
found to be congregating in such numbers in a particular locality that they constitute a
nuisance or a menace to health or property in the opinion of the proper health authorities
of the city, such health authorities shall meet with representatives of the Audubon
Society, Bird Club, Garden Club or Humane Society, or as many of such clubs as are
found to exist in the city, after having given at least three days actual notice of the time
and place of such meeting to the representatives of the clubs. If, as a result of such
meetings, no satisfactory alternative is found to abate such nuisance, then such birds may
be destroyed in such numbers and in such manner as is deemed advisable by the health
authorities, under the supervision of the police chief.
(Code 1977, §9-5003)

Wow... talk about red tape!

Anybody have any advise on how to proceed? I want to get rid of these little buggers! As I write, the chickadee parents are still battling with the invaders right outside my window...

Thank you all! Trekker in Savannah

Glad you found us Trekker, sounds like you have a mess on your hands.

First thing you need to do is confirm that ordinance and it's perameters. Ask the city if there are existing amendments towards house sparrows and if not what might be required to lead to an amendment. You will need to get an accurate population estimate of the sparrows in your neighborhood and document their damage to present to the proper representatives. Try hard to get as graphic with the evidence as possible. The audobon society as well as most bird clubs and garden clubs are big time bird lovers no matter what the problem with them, so good luck.

Well... I contacted the head of the local Audubon Society and she says "trap in any manor you see fit". Interestingly she also states that the House Sparrow in my area is not or has not been reported to be a problem.

So I've done all the passive measures around the house and a few neighborhood homes and the problem has abated somewhat but I'll employ a couple of traps nonetheless.

Well there you go, that was easy. Did you get that in writing by any chance? You might want to see if you can get that at least in an email (if you didn't already) just in case somebody else doesn't know about it. I have found that often times there will be people in positions of authority that will simply issue citations rather than look into a problem. If anybody asks you can show them that email or letter.

Hi Trekker,

To my knowledge, the only ordinance I have to be ware of, in town, is no shooting. I put my boxtraps out for the house sparrows my first year at my residence, and my neighbor lady asked, "What kind of birdhouse is that?" When I explained it was a trap, she said, "What do you do with the bird when you trap it?" I simply said, "It's not for the feint of heart." "Oh..."

I don't set out to "break laws", but by God, when a true native bird is in danger, I take action first, and answer questions later. But, I'm glad you were cool-headed enough to ask first, and received a positive answer.

Well done!

Monty