Since we moved here 4 years ago, we've always heard and seen sparrows in the gardens of a couple of houses further up the road, but never seen them here. Now they seem to have had a good breeding year, and our garden is suddenly graced with a flock of 8 or 9 'overflow' sparrows. I must confess to being very fond of these once-common little brown birds: their chirping reminds me of pavement cafes in warmer climes, and I like their constant busyness animating the garden.
Because they are a declining species I'm watching them with particular interest to see what they seem to like about the garden. I've heard they don't like tidy gardens - should I be insulted that they have decided that my garden is messy enough to move into?! Conclusion: a good dense thicket is definitely a plus. Both up the road and here, spadger central is a big overgrown Pyracantha bush. But I'm surprised to see that they seem to be eating the berries, before they are ripe enough for the Blackbirds to bother with. Watching them through the bins, rummaging around in the shrub, they are clearly taking berries as well as insects.
Another favourite is self-seeded Orache which has now grown into plants about 1.5m+. They peck at the leaves (good spinach substitute when young) as well as the seeds - and it helps if there's a fence nearby to give them a solid perch, as you can see in the pic. I'm glad I didn't pull all the self-seeded plants out even though they can look a bit straggly once they go to seed.
They will come to the feeders, but unlike the blue tits, they seem to like to vary their diet rather than existing on 100% sunflower seeds (just as well, it gets expensive...). And of course they like a good dust bath (no problem with our dry sandy soil) and will line up for a drink and splash in a bowl of water.
All very distracting when I should be working, but I think it's worthwhile to take time to watch your garden wildlife and see how the garden is used. Different plants and features will work for different species and they all have their specific preferences. By getting to know our feathered visitors and understanding their requirements, we can design better for them (just like our other clients...).
Anyone else have any sparrow-friendly tips?
Rose
A corner of my 'messy' garden which has the sparrow stamp of approval!
Comments
good for you Rose! -- did you watch "Natural World: Heligan - Secrets of the lost gardens" last night? - sparrows on the decline but not at Helligan -- absolutely wonderful programme, well worth watching on catch up if you didn't see last night
Hi Pete, missed the programme, will have to try to catch it later, Heligan's a lovely place.
Marvellous programme. Loved the sparrows having dust baths. We had lots of sparrows both in our rather overgrown forsythia hedge and in the hawthorn on the back.