I sympathize with all those dealing with house sparrows. They are here 365 days a year. I reduced my bird feeding a lot because they get most of it. The native birds are better at foraging from seed heads, and don't need as much additional food most of the year.
There is a reason there are so many house sparrows though. They are smart little buggers. I look out the window and see four chickadees, a pair of cardinals, a downy woodpecker, and a group of juncos all checking out the empty feeder and surrounding area. I look around and see no sign of the house sparrows. So I go out and fill up the feeder with black oilers and walk back to the house. The second I reach the house I turn around and look...20 house sparrows at the feeder chowing down! The other birds are nowhere to be seen! Shifty little buggers!
Sometimes all of a sudden the house sparrows disappear, but some of the "good birds" are still out and about. Nine times out of ten I look around and there is a hawk or a cat nearby. The sparrows know to stay alive and get the hell out of there! Plus they go at it like bunnies all season long. :)
My relatives who live in the country have never had a single house sparrow. Their feeders are dripping with chickadees, rose-breasted grosbeaks, nuthatches, red-head woodpeckers, titmice, indigo buntings, etc., etc. The sparrows have adapted very well to city and suburban life, but are not as present in the country it seems. I don't really like them, but am not quite willing to actively kill them or remove their nests like some people do. I did make all the openings on the bird houses a little smaller by adding metal bushing washers to the front which seems to have stopped them from nesting there so far at least.
