Sparrows finally moved into my bird house. Joy.

joseph brand

I must have built this about 3 years ago. It's SE facing (rear of house). This is the first year it has been lived in and the chicks chirp all day long.

I sat in the shed waiting and got a couple of photos of the mother (I think) visiting her new home. Suffice to say I'm delighted.



Anyone else here have guests?

ThunderCat

Congrats and yes thats a female.

Ulmus

Thanks for the heartening post.
Since last Monday the Irish Times are publishing readers' letters on Where have all the sparrows gone? In Dublin that is.

dodderangler

Ulmus wrote: »

Thanks for the heartening post.
Since last Monday the Irish Times are publishing readers' letters on Where have all the sparrows gone? In Dublin that is.

And I can only imagine the blame our poor sparrow hawk is gonna get

axe2grind

lack of nesting sites is one reason,
Good on you OP!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

dodderangler wrote: »

And I can only imagine the blame our poor sparrow hawk is gonna get

As it happens, not one of the five letters referred to predation.

House Sparrow numbers are very haphazard at times with flocks seeming to desert certain areas at times. Lack of suitable nesting sites at modern houses or older houses following renovation seems to be a major issue. Keep putting the sparrow boxes up folks!

Numbers here have increased significantly in recent years so let's hope it continues, as 20 years ago this immediate area had very few House Sparrows.

dodderangler

Nasir Chubby Strawberry wrote: »

As it happens, not one of the five letters referred to predation.

House Sparrow numbers are very haphazard at times with flocks seeming to desert certain areas at times. Lack of suitable nesting sites at modern houses or older houses following renovation seems to be a major issue. Keep putting the sparrow boxes up folks!

Numbers here have increased significantly in recent years so let's hope it continues, as 20 years ago this immediate area had very few House Sparrows.

Sorry if my post offended.
Usually bops would get blamed.
Seeing a lot more stickers on rear car windows of a sparrow hawk plucking a songbird and writing under it saying protect our pigeons and songbirds.
How can they do that??? Shoot all bops????

dodderangler

Link http://www.rpra.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Songbirds-Sticker.pdf
To me that implies persecution of spars and other bops

Birdnuts

dodderangler wrote: »

Link http://www.rpra.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Songbirds-Sticker.pdf
To me that implies persecution of spars and other bops

I suspect they are a crowd linked to a notorious UK based group called "Save our Songbirds" - set up specifically by a bunch of people with outdated Victorian views of nature to mislead the general public on this subject to fulfil their own agenda of removing protections from raptors and everything else from hedgehogs to otters. Their views have no basis in science and have been dismissed as off the wall by all the major conservation bodies in the UK including the BTO(British Trust for Ornithology) - the body that oversees all the scientific research on bird populations in the UK.
In any case many so called songbird populations are actually expanding, especially woodland species like Siskins,Redpolls etc. that are doing very well out of the expansion in forestry around the country. The likes of Goldfinch, Linnets are also holding their own in this country and are becoming more and more regular visitors to back garden feeding stations. In the case of species that are declining these declines are closely correlated with the loss of farmland habitats and the decline of traditional mixed farming practices. Eg. The Yellowhammer has gone from large areas of the North and West were tillage farming has more or less ceased since the 70's, but is still holding its own in tillage areas of the South and East.
Across the EU the same pattern is apparent and if you go to parts of Eastern Europe were traditional farming is still practiced you will see an amazing density and variety of all types of songbirds,gamebirds etc. only equalled in their abundance by an equally healthy population of raptors such as goshawks,kites,eagles etc. in numbers and variety that would astonish anyone who would only be familiar with the Irish situation.

Birdnuts

Nasir Chubby Strawberry wrote: »

Numbers here have increased significantly in recent years so let's hope it continues, as 20 years ago this immediate area had very few House Sparrows.

I have noticed a very similar pattern myself in regards to Sparrows and its great to see them back and doing well:)

Grolschevik

Living in North County Dublin, on what could be described as the very edge of the conurbation, I see many sparrows, tits, finches, and one territorial robin at/near my feeder daily.

Just thought I'd throw that in here.


Edit: and we've got buzzards in the area too.

dodderangler

Grolschevik wrote: »

Living in North County Dublin, on what could be described as the very edge of the conurbation, I see many sparrows, tits, finches, and one territorial robin at/near my feeder daily.

Just thought I'd throw that in here.


Edit: and we've got buzzards in the area too.

Buzzards won't bother with songbirds but a pigeon is on the menu. Female spar will take birds from robin to grey crow. Male spar will take songbirds and odd pigeon

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

dodderangler wrote: »

Buzzards won't bother with songbirds but a pigeon is on the menu. Female spar will take birds from robin to grey crow. Male spar will take songbirds and odd pigeon

I just read it as he had the sparrows etc and had Buzzards as well, not that he had them despite Buzzards.

Grolschevik

Nasir Chubby Strawberry wrote: »

I just read it as he had the sparrows etc and had Buzzards as well, not that he had them despite Buzzards.

Yep! The info was interesting though.

Adrianno28

joseph brand wrote: »

It's SE facing (rear of house). This is the first year it has been lived in and the chicks chirp all day long.

Should have faced it North or North West or West? In summer when the sun shines, the chicks will fry in it! :eek:

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Adrianno28 wrote: »

Should have faced it North or North West or West? In summer when the sun shines, the chicks will fry in it! :eek:

That's the advice for Tit boxes certainly but House sparrow terraces do quite well on south east, and east walls. Those eating under my roof tiles also prefer east and south.