Currently I'm seeing more Finch than Sparrow. I am curious to know if you are changing up what you are feeding the birds, I get a idea in my head once in awhile to try something different with my seed offerings which depending on the makeup of the blend can cause an increase in House Sparrows. I know better than to buy blends with milo in it but have found out the hard way that blends with millet also will not work for my suburban environment.
Brandon Magette of St Marys, mobile @ 785-844-0139
On Thu, Jan 29, 2026, 09:13 Dan Mulhern <browndog06...> wrote:
> I remember being excited when House Finches began moving into the > Manhattan area, maybe in the 1980s. Now I didn't have to go visit family in > Denver to see them. Once they firmly established themselves as a breeding > population, they seemed to displace House Sparrows at my feed/water > stations. Sparrows didn't disappear but the numbers went way down. > Fast forward to maybe early 2000s, and the two species had reached more of > an equilibrium in my sphere of observation. Sometimes more of one, > sometimes more of the other, but with House Finches holding perhaps a > slight numerical advantage on an annual basis. > Fast forward again to the 2020s, and especially 2026, and the House Finch > numbers have been overwhelmingly surpassed by House Sparrows. This winter > I'd estimate at least 85% House Sparrows, and that might be an > underestimation. > I'm wondering if there will "always" be this ebb and flow, back and forth? > Have House Sparrows finally regained their permanent edge? Are House > Finches more susceptible to avian influenza? Questions without answers yet. > Anyone else in KS seeing trends like these? > Dan Mulhern Manhattan > > For KSBIRD-L archives or to change your subscription options, go to > https://listserv.ksu.edu/ksbird-l.html > For KSBIRD-L guidelines go to > http://www.ksbirds.org/KSBIRD-LGuidelines.htm > To contact a listowner, send a message to > mailto:<ksbird-l-request...> >
