Quarrel of sparrows is joy of nature
IT has been a great year for our house sparrows – there were definitely more than 20 on our bird table this morning.
And what a squabbling, leaping, chirruping delight that was as they battled to eat the food I had put out minutes earlier.
There was a brilliant moment when a wood pigeon flew onto the scene like a launched ship hitting the water, sparrows scattering in all directions. It wasn’t long before the spadgers were back feeding side-by-side with their chunky new mate.
I could certainly tell that some of these birds were this year’s newborns. In fact, by the look of them, there were a couple of clutches on our table, which is wonderful news.
Does it mean that our small back garden is bucking a trend across the world, where house sparrow numbers are declining?
Figures show a decline of more than 70 per cent between the late 1970s and 2010.
The bird is actually on the Red List of conservation concerns, which is a real worry.
There have been increases in recent years, hence the explosion of sparrows in my own back yard.
A collection of sparrows is a quarrel or a ubiquity, which means being seen everywhere.
I like quarrel, but ubiquity is definitely suitable.
House sparrows may have more colourful neighbours, but they really are the most delightful birds. Males are streaky brown above and grey below. They have chestnut wings with white wingbars, a black bib and a grey cap.
Females and juveniles are streaky brown, which some people would call drab, but they have such lovely faces and are such charming birds that you cannot help but fall in love with them. I love them anyway!
They tend to measure about 14cm in length with a wingspan of just 24cm and, on average, they live for three years. Many don’t get past their first year, with only a quarter surviving their first breeding season.
The oldest wild house sparrow was recorded in Denmark and made it to 19 years and nine months.
Originally native to Europe and Asia, our house sparrows have spread their wings and colonised every continent except Antarctica.
They can be found from Argentina to Alaska, and Australia to Angola, making them the most widespread birds in the world.
I don’t think my mob have moved far from the bush across the alley, which I call Sparrow Central because of the gossip chatter that emanates from there during daylight hours.
It gets a bit quieter at night unless they are disturbed.
I am certain that local cats steer clear of the rackety bush, they tend to stick to our wall with their paws over their ears.
Nature is a joy because of creatures like the house sparrow and the brilliant thing about them is that they are there, in my and your back garden.
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