Despite their recent decline in some areas, our garden sees lots of house sparrows. They flit in large groups from a tall hedge which borders our driveway and across the back gardens. Often they stop in our honeysuckle for a rest and to regroup. One or two may take up position first and then a few more will follow and gradually the numbers rise. There always seems to be one or two birds on the top tendrils on look out duty and then suddenly one will spook and they all depart back to the safety of the hedge. We also have them roosting and nesting in an old clematis at the front of the house and the neighbours over the other side of the road have put a communal nesting box up as the birds also roost in their ivy.
Generally ground feeders, the sparrows that visit our garden have learnt to take from the feeders hanging in the tree. They can hang on for quite a while feasting on the seeds, nuts and fat balls.
These little brown birds can get a bit overlooked sometimes in the hope that something slightly more exotic might land but when you watch how they interact with the others in their gang and how they chatter almost continuously I think they deserve a bit more attention.
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| Female House Sparrow |
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| Male House Sparrow |
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| Stop over on the honeysuckle |
I love the noise of our resident group! It is raucous and sociable and endless. They are often overlooked, as you say, but that gorgeous plumage is well worth a second glance. I love them; thanks for highlighting them.
ReplyDeleteHi yes my population is ever growing in the garden at the moment which is great! Sorry I seem to have stopped getting comment notifications so missed yours - thank you
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