Comments on: A Helpful House Sparrow http://matthewsarver.com/2009/07/a-helpful-house-sparrow/ The Modern Naturalist Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:21:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Williams http://matthewsarver.com/2009/07/a-helpful-house-sparrow/comment-page-1/#comment-474 Williams Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:23:31 +0000 http://matthewsarver.com/?p=245#comment-474 The clash of the titan invasives! There was a Japanese Beetle "situation" in Orem, UT and the state pretty much locked the area down and, through an intensive program (read: a lot of spraying), they are now, once more, absent from Utah. As for the sparrows, I have wondered if these guys and/or pigeons could be trained to pick up litter...especially the ubiquitous cigarette butt. Perhaps a feeder set up to issue a reward upon deposit of a specific litter item. I think the problem would be preventing them from putting everything in to get the reward. The clash of the titan invasives! There was a Japanese Beetle “situation” in Orem, UT and the state pretty much locked the area down and, through an intensive program (read: a lot of spraying), they are now, once more, absent from Utah.
As for the sparrows, I have wondered if these guys and/or pigeons could be trained to pick up litter…especially the ubiquitous cigarette butt. Perhaps a feeder set up to issue a reward upon deposit of a specific litter item. I think the problem would be preventing them from putting everything in to get the reward.

]]> By: sally http://matthewsarver.com/2009/07/a-helpful-house-sparrow/comment-page-1/#comment-9 sally Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:35:16 +0000 http://matthewsarver.com/?p=245#comment-9 enjoyed your house sparrow comments. It's interesting to think what might have come into their niche in this modern industrialized world if they weren't around? More starlings? Also an import...... which native bird would have adapted as well as the Passer domesticus to urban life? enjoyed your house sparrow comments. It’s interesting to think what might have come into their niche in this modern industrialized world if they weren’t around? More starlings? Also an import…… which native bird would have adapted as well as the Passer domesticus to urban life?

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