Tree Sparrows

Tree Sparrow

During the really cold weather at Christmas I started to ground feed the birds at well as the feeders. It attracted this solitary Tree Sparrow below. Little did I realise that now ten weeks later that there would be a cacophony of sound coming from the hedge in front of my house every morning. I now have as many as a hundred Tree Sparrows visiting my feeders. They seem particularly attracted to Jollye's Wild Bird Feed mixed with Jollye's Foreign Finch food. I have an 18inch feeder and I fill it every night and sometimes by 2.00pm in the afternoon it can be empty. Some birds are even using the nyjer seed.

Tree Sparrow

The Tree Sparrow is a bit smaller than the House Sparrow and the other difference between the two is that both male and female Tree Sparrow look the same. I now have lots of both House and Tree around the house. The House Sparrows nest in a colony next to my garage. The House Sparrow also has a more harsh call than the Tree Sparrow. I put up this broken branch on the hedge as they like to wait their turn on it.

Tree Sparrows

Having now attracted them I am beginning to put up some nest boxes in the hope that they will use them and breed. With the Tree Sparrow you have to have a nestbox with an entrance hole of 28mm. If it is larger than this the House Sparrow can take it over.

I have to say I think they are a lovely bird and am very pleased that these birds, whose conservation status  in the UK is now red due to their rapid decline, have decided to make this area their home. I had hoped that I might get a visit from a Yellowhammer as one can often see Tree sparrows and Yellowhammers in the same area. We used to have them around when I first moved into this house. I would quite often see them in the bushes behind the above feeder but it is a couple of years since I have seen them here.

The other bird that I get to see on a regular basis are these Redpolls