I have mentioned before that I have been visited by the occasional sparrow and I think that he has been away and told his friends. This morning there were about four in the garden on the seed feeder.
It has been almost six months since the landlady had the side garden cleared out with a digger and now it just looks like a barren mess, devoid of all life.
However, I am hopeful that this sparrow gang will bring their families into the garden to feed too. This is very important as we have lost huge numbers of house sparrow due to the use of pesticides, herbicides and modern building practices. The farmers use the chemicals on crops which not only destroy the seed which the birds eat but also the insects that the birds feed to their young. Modern buildings are made from a lot of concrete and don't have crevices or gaps where the birds can nest.
Before the side garden was destroyed I used to have a flock of thirty or so house sparrows which came to feed every day all through the year. Strangely, the ones that came this morning were all males so perhaps their hens are sitting on nests, but they should have reared their first clutch so I will have to wait and see if they bring the young over to feed and bathe. They did investigate the bird bath and the tub with the water lily, so they are obviously checking the facilities and catering arrangements.
There were also a couple of great tits on the bird peanut feeder but they only come throughout the spring and summer and the magpie pops over from time to time to see what he can steal. Perhaps I will be able to watch a garden full of birds again quite soon.
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