House Sparrow A Bird That Is Always Around

It was Livingsword from the Life On The Blade blog that recently asked me, 'What is your favorite bird?' I thought I would talk about this one. In reality, I like all the birds. Last year I started my birdwatching adventures, and you can obviously guess that I have many bird posts included in this blog, including my blog avatar, a juvenile Barn swallow. I had many thoughts about changing my avatar, but I really like that baby barn swallow photo. It was a blessing to be at the right place at the right time—the soccer field LOL.

Birdwatching, or birding, is real fun! I say we, my husband and I, started our birding adventure in the spring. We hiked and decided to focus more on birds and study them in more detail. To our surprise, we could not believe how many species we were able to capture on the camera. I hate to tell you, but before we started birding, all the birds looked the same to us—obviously excluding chickens. To my surprise, I also discovered that taking photos of the juvenile birds was the easiest thing to do. You look at them, and they look at you back, and you get closer and closer, click and click, and keep moving in until they don't fit into your viewfinder anymore.
Well, let's go back to my favorite bird. As I said, it is hard to say; however, all my life I enjoyed the presence of the House sparrow [Passer domesticus]. The House sparrows are always around. I had the privilege to enjoy them when growing up in Europe and continue to enjoy them here in Canada. House sparrows always look happy to me, and this is probably why I like them so much. I know you may have heard stories of them attacking people or invading private spaces, but for me, this was never an issue, and this is probably because I don't have a garden to worry about. The photo shown here is of a female House sparrow. I have had many birds enjoy food from my birdfeeder since last fall, and the House sparrows were one of them, not to mention they worked well with our local Mourning Doves during the feeding time. As the House sparrows pecked on the food in the bird feeder, all the mess would then be cleaned up by the Mourning Doves, as they would peck what was on the ground. It was very interesting to watch. Another place where I see them all the time is our local supermarket parking lot and at every zoo I have ever visited—obviously these are places with plenty of food.

Unfortunately, I read something interesting when I was looking for information on House sparrows on the Internet. The population of House sparrows in Europe is declining, mainly due to the use of pesticides in gardens. This is another sad story, and it is unusual to hear about such a popular bird.

~ Anna

Comments

S-V-H said…
I like your little sparrow, Anna. I like them anyway, they are so cute! I have some birds also in my todays post, just to let you know.:-)

Nice post Anna, thanks for sharing your knowledge about birding!
kml said…
I agree, Anna, the House Sparrows are so sweet. There we not many around our house this winter, but there were plenty in the city parking lots when we went shopping. I would always open up my bread and take out a few slices for them to eat as this winter was so hard. I got a few nasty looks from other shoppers, but I felt so bad for those poor little guys. I hope they can make a come back in Europe - it can be done if they work on it. After many declining years, we have started to have an increase in the Titmice, Cardinals, and Mourning Doves - it is so good to see it!

Take care,
Kathy
duopastorale said…
I love these birds but we see so few now. I did notice in the Italian Lakes last year there were lots!
House sparrows are on the decline as garden birds in the UK.We still have massives of them, but not in everones garden as they used to be.

Good to see you highlight them as they are often overlooked.

Cute photo, as are all of yours i've just looked at.
myonlyphoto said…
Susanne thank you. Soon as I finish here I will be on my way to see my bird treat, lol. Thanks again for your visit and letting me know. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Kathy. Yes you are absolutely right, they are sweet little birds. Funny you say about feeding with the bread crumbs, I do that at the zoo all the time. So who is getting you those nasty looks, next time offer them bread crumbs too, lol. I think even though they are declining, I don't think they ever will go extra mile as the did for Bald Eagles, but I could be wrong. Nice birds you have there, never seen Titmice, thanks for sharing, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hey Mike thanks and nice to see you here. I came across your name through one of comments on my blog, and I thought I will pay you a visit. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and I hope those little birds do not decline as much here, I would really miss them. Thanks again, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks babooshka. I guess my story now confirms, thanks for sharing your information with us. Yes sometimes we over look the simplest things around us, and they can be so beautiful. Thanks again for your kind comment and visit. Anna :)
Oswegan said…
I had never really thought of bird watching as an adventure, but if you say so ;-)

Nice picture, and cute post.
Unknown said…
It is so nice how you have shown a normal thing in a beautiful way like this. I like your description too, I had never much bothered about the Latin name, but it is nice to see someone who knows it!

In reply to your comment, I *have* changed my blog template, mainly because I wanted to change the header image and the old colours didn't fit in right. I'm still not sure about these colours, the green seems a little bit too dark to me, but that's just my own impression. :) If you have any suggestions I'd be more than happy to hear them.

Some day I'll be brave and change to a blog template like yours - I love that style and it works really well!

Cheers,

David Webb: Pictures of Nature
Lynda Lehmann said…
You were lucky to find him to photograph, and I too, like the baby sparrow on your page.

It's nice that you and your husband are sharing bird-watching while you hike. I love to hike, but have not seen too many birds while doing so. I guess it depends where you are. We usually hike in New England, in Maine boreal forests. I have seen blue herons, sea gulls, loons, and swooping eagles around the lakes up there, though!

Your love of nature comes through in your posts, Anna!
Bob Johnson said…
First Anna, love your image of the little sparrow, didn't know they smoked cigars, very cool,lol too bad about the pesticides.

Your icon is perfect, again you were at the right place at the right time!

Me too when I first started getting into astronomy all the stars looked alike, but believe it or not there are different colors and brightness and levels of colors on quite a few of them, interesting.

Again great post Anna.
RW said…
Awesome photo of the House Sparrow Anna! My Dad has a lot of sparrows hanging around fun to watch! Have a great weekend Anna!!
kRiZcPEc said…
That's not a good news, but perhaps they will make a comeback with the help needed?
Merging Point said…
chubby chubby cute little one! appears like having a smoke.. These sparrows are so swift in their action and i love them too...
Tom Arbour said…
Anna- Yes, it is hard to believe that house sparrows are declining in Europe. Some bird watchers set traps to kill house sparrows here in the U.S., as they are considered by some to be real pests. They are definitely controversial, check out this wanted poster I just found:

Wanted Poster

I know that my yard would be me much less birdy and much less interesting without the house sparrows, so I enjoy watching them.

Tom @ Ohio Nature

Tom
MedaM said…
This is another beautiful post, Anna. I am glad to see a sparrow photo on your blog which is really beautiful. I have taken several sparrow photos so far (not as good as yours, honestly) but have never posted any. There are so many sparrows over here. You can see them in every garden, every park or in the ZOO. You can see them almost everywhere. The last time I took a sparrow photo was only two days ago when I got off the bus at the bus station where is the crowd always. There were several of them playing among the willow branches. I do enjoy looking them playing joyfully while skipping from one branch to another and always making noise by merrily chirping. I also enjoy looking them while I feeding them. But, at the same time I feel very sorry for them because of their fear of being caught by someone or some cat while taking their little bits of bread. Poor sparrows! I love them and I love this post of yours.
I like the house sparrow a lot. And we have them doing exactly what you said....they eat from our bird feeder and the doves are cleaning up below.
That is sad to hear that the sparrows numbers are declining in Europe.
--JB
Dick said…
Oh isn't he (she?) sweet, I like sparrows but there are not many of them here anymore. Have a nice weekend.
Swubird said…
Anna:

My Queen also likes to watch birds. From the up stair's bathroom window she can see them making their nests in the rafters. Every year a new mom and dad bird create a brand new family. And the Queen gets to see it all - right up until the babies fly away. It's quite exciting. Now and then she'll ask me to come and see the birds, but I say don't call me unless you happen to spot a pterodactyl!
Anonymous said…
Hi Anna - I really like the sparrows too, although my birder friends tell me I should not. I am told they are an imported pest like the Starling in North America.

Although they are disappearing in Europe, they are everywhere in North America, even with all the pesticides we use. I can hear them in the background as I type this!

I found the following on Wikipedia. I guess it makes sense, but I could never do it. Now the Starlings, that is another story!

From Wikipedia: "As an invasive non-indigenous species, it is legal to kill House Sparrows and destroy their eggs at any time in most places in the United States."

-Will
Fruity said…
Another nice, peaceful bird photo. Wondering what's on her mind at that time, are you gonna feed me or is it another self-service food :)
Fruity
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Oswegan, thanks for your comment, lol, you said: 'I had never really thought of bird watching as an adventure, but if you say so ;-)' - oh it is, because we never know what we will see, and when we do, I am like a hunter running around the forest, or fields, and thank God I got that strength to do that for now. Thanks again for your comment and visit. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
David thank you. I think Latin names are cool, and as long as I can find them. But we have to becareful, because Latin ones are specific, and English are some times very generic, like sparrow where there are many different with slight differences.

David I think you will know the best what colors to implement into your blog, but as I answered on your blog before, I like earth tone colors on the background as they usually can then accomodate any color we add.

BTW to change template, you can create yourself a test blog and mimic your live one. Practice with test, and when you ready you will be brave enough to do the changes.

Thanks again for the visit and comment, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Lynda. Yes, I am blessed with someone who can put up with my hobbies. He is my equipment technician too, cleans my camera, carries my everything I need when hiking and many other things. But on the end I can do all other thing he does not, lol, or watch his hockey practice, when I am the only wife there, lol. We learned to appreciate each other actions over the years, and we do consider ourselves as a great team.

Yes Lynda, location is very important. I have gone to some deep forests, and have found nothing, okay, may be few mosquitoes, lol.

Lynda you said: 'We usually hike in New England, in Maine boreal forests. I have seen blue herons, sea gulls, loons, and swooping eagles around the lakes up there, though!' - wow that is nice show, I only seen loons once in Nova Scotia, love the sounds, so mystic.

Thanks Lynda again for your lovely comment. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Bob thanks, and you said: 'didn't know they smoked cigars, very cool,lol too bad about the pesticides.' - I did not know that too, lol, oh that was funny.

You said: 'Your icon is perfect, again you were at the right place at the right time!' - thanks Bob, I guess I will leave it the way it is.

You said: '...all the stars looked alike, but believe it or not there are different colors and brightness and levels of colors on quite a few of them, interesting.' - you are so right, the stars do look different, as I have noticed few per your instructions from your blog, however, your job is harder, because once I move away from the sky, I can only differentiate the moon from all the stars, lol, kidding aside, you have hard job Bob.

Thanks again, Bob. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hey Roger, you beat the time this time. Glad that someone else has those little guys around too. You have yourself a good weekend also. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Kriz with all this global awareness never know. Thanks for your comment and visit. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Merging Point, lol, yes she is chubby cute little one, lol. Thanks for your nice comment as always, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Tom. Yes it is hard to believe. I never knew about the sparrow killings. That is sad, and I don't understand. The amazing thing is that many times I posted birds, and few bloggers came back with extra information about some being pests, or being hunted or killed. The poster, wow, is this real?

Tom thanks for sharing your thoughts, appreciated. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Medam dear, you are such a blessing. You know it really does not matter if the photo came out good or bad, you should see how many bad ones I had before I got this one, lol. Always ensure that you enjoy them first, it is really much better experience to actually watch them play. I am glad that you enjoyed my post, and thank you for sharing such a beautiful thoughts about the sparrows. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi JB, and thanks. Wow so you got the same scanario, that is so cool. Yes I am sad too, I can understand the natural declines, but if they decline because of us, it is sad. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts JB. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Dick. Sorry to hear you don't have many. Hey never know, nature can be always full of surprises. Thanks again for your visit and comment, and yes she is cute. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Swubird, you are funny. Hope your Queen one day will spot pterodactyl (whatever it is lol) for you. However, that is so nice that all that can be seen from your window (I wish I had window like that too, lol). Thanks for sharing, appreciated. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Oh Will finally I found a bird you like, lol, not like your friends starlings. One way or the other birds do get to other places, I doubt they would be able to fly over the ocean from Europe to NA, unless they are brave like hummingbirds. I always thought that birders would like all the birds, I guess not. Oh well, I like them all....even though our driveway was once bombed like crazy with someone who ate lot of barries, lol.

Thanks for the findings, like I said to Tom above, it is sad. I could never do it either. This statement is too strong for me to handle, I hope people will take other more human methods, or let the nature deal with it.

Thanks Will for sharing again, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Fruity, and thanks. Oh trust me they love any food you give them. I think this one was self-service, or more like cleaning up after others, so I was getting the free service. Thanks for your nice comment and visit, it is appreciated. Anna :)
Texas Travelers said…
More posts. I didn't vote.
I have just found your site through SWF.
Great photography and articles.

I have added you to my Nature Sites Blog Roll
Anonymous said…
Hello,
just discovered your blog..I live in Ontario and in my blogs I write about Guildwood Village and my Guildwood gardens.
Your pictures are great.
-Cheers
myonlyphoto said…
Hi texas traveler, nice to meet you and thanks for the recent add to your blogroll, I will then add you to. Thanks for your comments, yes poll is closed. I used to post more than 1 post per week, but then things slowdown because of other responsibilities. Just trying to get feel for what blogger visitors want. Thanks again for your nice comments. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Nice to meet you Guild-rez. Thank you so much for your nice comments. I have visited your blogs, they are stunning. I will then see you around, and I guess we are almost neighbours. Anna :)
virtual nexus said…
Anna, nice post, and you're right about the sparrows.

If we see a group of a few of them we actually look twice, they are becoming so infrequent. Once it was unusual to see robins - now we seem to be overrun with them down here in Kent!
Anonymous said…
beautiful bird, that, it really is. You know the saddest thing, I used to love those birds like anything when I was a kid, and there used to be infinite number of them always around - but over the over few years, they have suddenly disappeared from where I live. Haven't seen one for a long long time now...
Mima said…
What a lovely photo. I have a bird feeder outside my window so I can watch all the birds coming to feed which I love, but I never see sparrows which is really sad. I know that they are declining here in the UK and that is terribly sad.
Tom said…
Nice to see the humble House Sparrow getting a mention... I would see lot and lots of these around 10-15 years ago.. each and every day. Now I see them every few days and not that many. I can tell you though that this morning there were a pair mating in one of my trees.. infact 3 times they mated.. ha!. Hopefully they will make a come back. One of the other reasons these birds and many song bird are declining in the UK is by being killed by cats... cats are everywhere in towns and gardens, Magpies take many eggs and young birds from the nests also. We have many Magpies. Sparrow Hawks were also once not seen often.. now I see them about twice a week hunting over the back gardens.

Neat post
Tom
MYM said…
Excellent photo, so sweet. We have quite a few around here ... I get a good view of them from my balcony.
Anonymous said…
Lovely shot, such a delicate creature. You capture is so very well.
RW said…
Hope you had a awesome weekend Anna!! :D
Max Coutinho said…
Hey Anna,

House sparrows: I find them so cute! I see them everyday, cause around noon they fly over to my window and stay they looking at me (so sweet) and then they leave. The funniest thing is: they travel in pairs, the two that visit me...I just love them! It is like they are telling me that life is smiling at me :D!

We have a lot of them here, in my neighbourhood (I know, my neighbourhood sounds more and more like a zoo, but that is practically what it is lol).

This picture is so lovely, Anna: congratulations :D!!!

I wish you a great week ahead!

Cheers
myonlyphoto said…
Hi tenis a sapato, welcome to my blog and thank you for your nice comments. I hope to see you back soon. Thanks again, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Julie, wow, so many people are not seeing that many sparrows around too, including you. We have them here luckly, but they like to hangout around local supermarkets. Especially yesterday, it made me laugh, but they have this way to hide in the shopping carts or cages, and chirp away, lol. Julie thanks for sharing your story, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Sumedh. Welcome to my blog and thank you for your nice comment. It is sad, these little ones are very loveable and simple birds. Thanks again for your visit, and I will pay you a visit shortly. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Mima, and thank you. Glad that you were able to visit my blog again. Having bird feeder is very nice, especially when different birds come over. It took about 2-3 months, until birds found my bird feeder, but once they did they went crazy visiting. BTW there must have been a lot of fun, because it got knocked down this morning, lol. Thanks Mima for sharing your sparrow story with us, and yes it is sad about sparrows. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Tom. You know I like many things, but the simplest creatures are sometimes so adorable. Oh this must have been nice to see mating sparrows. I hope to see that soon here too, but looks like gracle birds and red wing black birds took over. Wow, I forgot about the cats, but this may be a big issue. Here in Canada, we have by laws for cat owners, and wild cats live outside towns, so may be that is why our sparrow population is doing well. Oh and Magpies, I guess this one is more controlled by evolution and the way other birds survive. I will do some research on Sparrow Hawks, never seen one, and never heard off. Thanks for sharing Tom, good info as always. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Drowsey Monkey. It is always nice to see you here, your comments are appreciated. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi John M. glad to see you here again, and thank you for your kind comment. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Roger, hope you had a good weekend yourself. Been busy with some family emergencies, but everything is working out good now. Thanks for your regular visits, appreciate. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Max, you are blessed with your free zoo, lol, and yes sparrows are cute, I really like simple things, and can watch them over and over again when they play. So not just people like you, but the birds too, this is great, you have natural magnet in you. That is funny, but when I see birds in pairs, it reminds me how similar we all are. Thanks Max for your nice comment and your story. Anna :)
Max Coutinho said…
Anna,

You are most welcome, girl :)!
You are right: animals are like us...we need our pair/peer :D!

Cheers
Sandpiper (Lin) said…
Aw, sweet picture. I have resident house sparrows here. They hide in the hedge, but their songs give them away. :)
Max-e said…
Hi Anna we also have house sparrows in South Africa. They were introduced many years ago and have populated the whole country. Wherever you go you will find them.
Yes they are very chearful and sociable birds.
We caould always restock Europe's population of house sparrows from here.
YOSH said…
You're one of them aren't you? I know about your bases under DIA. I know you have big plans, but can we just be friends? I know earth has pissed you guys off. But I'm willing to be friends if you are.