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House sparrows - some good news (1 Viewer)

MTem

Well-known member
Hardly a statistically significant sample, but it gladdens me anyway to report another peak count for my local House Sparrow flock. Today I counted 42. They seem to be very sedentary moving daily between the two houses (one mine) at our end of a 100m gravel rural lane to the two cottages at the other end by the tarmac lane. I rarely see any any distance from this, but occasionally the flock will move a little way along the hedgerow by the tarmac lane. We are surrounded by fields and small woods.

We moved here in 1989 when a small flock of up to 10 used to nest around the houses at this end of the gravel lane. We left in 1991 for a 'short' US assignment that in the end lasted until 1998. When we returned there were none.

A few reappeared early this century, and the first nest in my house after that was about 2004. Since then they have slowly prospered - helped probably by supplementary feeding by me, my neighbour at this end and one at the other. 3-4 nests around my house and my outbuildings are now usual, and the flock has grown accordingly - but this will be the first count above 40 in my BTO Garden Birdwatch records.

Listening to them 'gossiping' deep in the brambles out front brings irrational joy in great measure.

Some positive news among all the bad....

Mick
 
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We have had more or less the same experience. When we first moved here some 16 years ago, there were three House Sparrows. With regular feeding by some neighbours and ourselves, we now have 40. We're right in the middle of the suburbs, but a huge ivy hedge has grown along the back fence of our close (c100m long) and this shelter may have helped.
 
In our suburban garden, during the summer, I usually get a flock of about 20 when they all arrive together, juveniles included. But by this time of year, there's only about 2-4. Where do they all go?!
 
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