I have been exploring the area around Edinburgh. I’ve seen Velvet Scoter and Long-tailed Ducks (neither is a species I see often), and came across 110 Whooper Swans in a field, saw a Peregrine at Aberlady Bay and have seen a variety of waders (although no Purple Sandpipers so far), but the thing that I’ll probably remember best is a flock of House Sparrows.
I stopped the car to look at some small birds that had flown into a tree (they were Goldfinches) and was surprised to hear lots of House Sparrows nearby. I couldn’t see any.
The noise, which was loud, was coming from the roadside hedge pictured above. It was obviously packed with House Sparrows. I still couldn’t see any.
I parked close by and used my, on loan, Minox binoculars to scan the small stretch of hedgerow. I could just see that it was crowded with House Sparrows all chirrupping away.
They were making a lot of noise – it all sounded very social.
Each time a vehicle passed (not often) the noise diminished or ceased. As a jogger approached the noise quietened and rose in volume as he passed.
After a while, House Sparrows began, slowly and gradually, to emerge from the inside of the hedge and to perch on the outside. In small numbers they flew across the road to another hedge. I counted over 50 who left the hedge and another 20 who were still there before the ‘departed 50’ all came back. I guess there were at least 80, but maybe as many as 100, House Sparrows all crammed socially into that short stretch of hedge here, in the middle of nowhere. If it hadn’t been for the Goldfinches I wouldn’t have known the House Sparrows were there.
I really, really like House Sparrows.
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There is a big noisy gang of House Sparrows that hang out in our hedge. House Sparrows and hedges are brilliant.
But they do tend to poo a lot when you have them in the hand! (all in the interests of science).
North Berwick is the best place for purple sandpipers, Mark but don’t gaze into the distance because they often feed by the harbour wall if the tide is out. Aberlady Bay is one of the most underrated bird watching sites in Britain although timing things with the weather can make a difference. I once had the privilege (with the rest of Bangor Bird Group) of having a surf scoter and a glaucous gull in the same scope field.
House sparrows are great! I started mapping the colonies around my hometown a couple of years ago although other things have broken in to disrupt this project recently.
House sparrows are brilliant – love their chirrupping, a sound never heard at home now with maybe visits to the feeders on only one or two days a year usually in June.
Like Ian above we did a study with the local primary schools to discover where the sparrow hot-spots were in town. We found they really like privet hedges and slightly favoured areas of older properties.
That was over 10 years ago – might have to re-do it some time.
“Our” flock of about 50 (probably fewer after winter) House Sparrows also like our privet hedge, and other garden shrubs. I feel rather privileged to have them, plus a few Tree Sparrows, residing alongside my home.
I have recently lost the cheerful sound of House sparrows in my daily life as new neighbours moved in and immediately removed the dense Pyracantha hedge in their front garden for ‘security reasons’. When I mournfully pointed out the fact that they would be displacing a local group of sparrows, I was told that they often sat in nearby trees. However, the trees being fairly open-canopied, the sparrows never congregated sociably in them as they did in the hedge and I have seen no sparrows visiting my birdbath since the hedge went, which saddens me.
I’ve ‘liked’ your comment, but not the fact that your neighbours took out their sparrow friendly hedge.
How strange to remove a pyracantha hedge for “security reasons”. They are usually recommended as one of the plants that deters intruders – they are very painfully sharp if you get one sticking in you!
Some hedge!
Great blog and great comments. Sparrows round our way (Biggleswade) seem to be particularly fond of big patches of brambles. Is this apparent requirement for thick cover for sociable gatherings behind some of their declines – are others like Claudia’s neighbours removing sparrow friendly bushes on an industrial scale?
Findlay’s comment says everything – sparrows are just adorable and I hope we get some on our estate eventually. Can we give tax breaks to homeowners who give sparrows a home? A sort of reverse bedroom tax?!
I have about 20+ house sparrows in the rather over grown hedges in my garden that nest under my rather old roof & I love them to bits with their cheep cheeps.
Lived down in Fareham, Hampshire for a while (whilst working at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust) and for a few months, I kept getting this odd feeling that all was not right in the garden. After a while, I realised what it was. No House Sparrows – not a single one. No chirping away at 4.00am on a June morning; no hogging the bird feeder; no little fights between each other; no scraggy nests; but a lot of greenfinches instead. I really missed them.
Thankfully, I’m now in Yorkshire and there are loads in my Bishopthorpe, York garden and I love them, which is a good job as the Vale of York arable wilderness is nearly wildlife-free (with some notable exceptions of course).
Rob Stoneman
Not one this year up the valley. May be 5 records in 27 years while Collared Dove is now annual even bred one year. They exist a mile away in the village even a white one last winter! Most farms don’t have them around here as there are few hens on farms these days and too much grass.
So how many Atlas surveyors during 07-11 might have passed the spot without knowing they were there?
“I parked close by and used my, on loan, Minox binoculars to scan the small stretch of hedgerow. I could just see that it was crowded with House Sparrows all chirrupping away.” so that’s the Minox review done then, not very good I’ll assume, still at least you didn’t see any Linnetts :o)