My wife and I moved into this house about a year ago.

Started my first garden last year... Learned a lot for this upcoming season.

I have been thinking about building a bluebird house and placing between two of my raised beds.

I've been reading the last few days about house sparrow and starlings being nuisance species to other songbirds. I've decided if I do built a box, it'll be a two-hole mansion design by Linda Violett .

However, I've honestly never seen a bluebird around my house... This morning I sat outside with my coffee and observed dozens, literally dozens, of house sparrows flying around my yard, landing on my raised beds and trellises and perching in my red bud trees... I didn't realize how many sparrows there were around here.

This time of year we also get swarms of starlings that raid the fields nearby and end up in our front yard in the hundreds. They will be gone soon, but still worried about their presence.

I don't want to put up a bluebird box to provide shelter for sparrows and I definitely don't want to be the cause of any unwanted bluebird massacres.

Am I better off just leaving my yard birdhouse-free?

I understand some people will trap sparrows in their houses and exterminate them. But I know for a fact my wife will not help with that, and I have too much going on to handle that job on my own.

Is there an ethical way to put up a bluebird house without trapping sparrows with the observed numbers I've just seen?

It would be really nice to add a birdhouse, but if it means almost certain death for resident birds other than sparrows...

Thanks for the help!