Spadger

School holidays mean babysitting, and then thanks to Bertha no birding when I was marooned indoors for a couple of days. In between I managed to catch a number of still very juvenile Goldfinches, two Chaffinches, a Collared Dove and even a couple of Spadgers, House Sparrows, a species which normally does a rapid disappearing act when a net is in sight. 

Collared Dove

 Chaffinch - juvenile male

Chaffinch - juvenile female

juvenile Goldfinch

I’ve seen lots of House Sparrows this summer, more than for many years. I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed the same? I’m certain that the many sunny days, lack of rain and generally settled weather of June and July has meant that following a series of disastrous years our old friend the spadger has enjoyed a good breeding season at last. 

House Sparrow - juvenile

Spadger is one of many dialect names for our House Sparrow, terms which also include sparr, sparrer, spadger, spadgick, spug and spuggy, mainly in northern England or spur and sprig, mainly in Scotland. I’ll bet there are others I’ve not mentioned, particularly in other parts of the world and if so I’m certain blog readers will let me know. 

House Sparrows have lived alongside humans since the Stone Age, and although I’m not quite of that period older readers like me will remember how the House Sparrow was once a hugely successful species. It was a bird so prosperous that its numbers and prevalence often characterised it as a pest, especially to the farming community who’s ripening corn crops became a major object of attention to hordes of House Sparrows. 

From Wiki - The House Sparrow has also often been kept as a pet as well as being a food item and a symbol of lust and sexual potency, as well as of commonness and vulgarity. From around 1560 to at least the nineteenth century in northern Europe, earthenware "sparrow pots" were hung from eaves to attract nesting birds so that the young could be readily harvested. Wild birds were trapped in nets in large numbers, and sparrow pie was a traditional dish and because of the association of sparrows with lechery, to have aphrodisiac properties. In the early part of the twentieth century, “sparrow clubs” culled many millions of birds and eggs in an attempt to control numbers of this perceived pest, but with only a localised impact on numbers. 

In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s House Sparrows were rather taken for granted by birdwatchers and other guardians of the countryside - a commonplace bird that could be safely left to its own devices. I remember how in the 1980s the British Trust for Ornithology advised bird ringers that ringing House Sparrows in large numbers was not necessary and probably a waste of resources, so ringers like me simply released House Sparrows as a by-product of a catch without ringing or recording any data on them. 

 House Sparrow

Then in in the late 1990s there was a sudden realisation that the House Sparrow had lost 70% of its population in just 20 to 30 years. The population fell from about 13 million pairs in the whole of the UK in the 1970s to nearer 5.5 million pairs in 2008. Even now no one is entirely sure why that happened as it did and why their numbers remain stuck below 6 million pairs, but the culprits named in similar bird declines are mentioned, plus a few new ones linked to the often urbanised existence of the House Sparrow. 

It is thought that in contrast to when House Sparrows nested in the thatched roofs of old or the leaky, draughty old buildings of the early twentieth century, our modern buildings have fewer holes and crevices where the birds can nest. The current fashion for the tidy hedges of farm and garden may be a factor too as House Sparrows nest not just in buildings but in dense and unkempt hedgerows. 

Domesticated cats take their toll of birds of many species, the House Sparrow on the lawn being a regular target for a well fed moggy. Other research mentions that relatively recent addition to garden birds the Collared Dove as a possible cause of the House Sparrow’s decline because the dove competes for and often wins a bigger share of the same food types on offer; seeing how Collared Doves spend so much time in my own garden I can see why that could be true. 

Many House Sparrows live in close proximity to vehicle exhaust emissions of Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a chemical in unleaded petrol which is thought to be affecting the abundance of insects that House Sparrows feed to their young. There’s also the now familiar reason implicated in the decline of many bird species, the fact that autumn sown cereal crops leave little stubble for finches, buntings and sparrows to forage in or spilt grain to eat. 

I’m rather hoping that our local House Sparrows can repeat this year’s breeding success because the garden wouldn’t be the same without the chirping of a gang of cheeky and characterful House Sparrows. 

And when you see them close-up they are actually rather handsome birds aren’t they? 

House Sparrow

 

With a better forecast it's back to birding tomorrow on Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Anni's blog.

Where Did Two Weeks Go?

Back home after 14 days in the unbroken sun of Fuerteventura, and it’s a large bag of dirty washing for Sue and 800 images on the SD card for me. Yes, it’s a tedious, thankless task, but someone has to show willing so as to keep Another Bird Blog updated. Many thanks to all those who logged in during the holiday, I will be visiting you all soon to return the complement and catch up with your blogs, and in the next few days my priority is also to catch up with friends and family. 

After a check of the many images from the last two weeks I lumped together a quick post by way of an introduction to Fuerteventura, the birds and the scenery which they and the many tourists inhabit. This post details birds in the immediate area of our stay in Costa Calma, so named I think with reverence to the relatively sheltered nature of this resort from the prevailing winds. This relative calm is due in no small part to the easterly geographical location and to the long belt of pine trees which give a degree of protection from the often strong prevailing wind systems.

It’s peculiar how the same bird species occur in the vicinity of many holiday places we visit, with Fuerteventura providing a similar hotel list to other places we know whereby sparrows, pigeons, gulls, kestrels and a few wader species are to the fore. Don't forget folks, click on the pics for a better view.

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Sanderlings and Turnstones were ever present on the sandy and partly rocky shore. Turnstones can be fairly confiding here in the UK, but on Fuerteventura they are even more so and are approachable to within a few metres. 

Sanderling

Turnstone

After taking photographs of a Sanderling I noticed only upon examining the images later that the bird had a British ring on its right leg. With only a couple of shots I couldn’t get enough detail to send the record in to the BTO so as to find out where it had been ringed, so in the following days looked for the Sanderling but couldn’t relocate it. 

Sanderling

An unusual hotel bird proved to be Raven, a pair of birds from the locality paying infrequent visits to the shore to steal monkey nuts from under the noses of the Barbary Ground Squirrels. Almost every tourist I saw paid more attention to feeding the “cute” squirrels whilst ignoring the long-distance-migrant shore birds at their feet, the closeness of the huge Ravens, the feeding terns along the shore or the handsome Yellow-legged Gulls. 

Sandwich Tern

Raven

Barbary Ground Squirrel

Yellow-legged Gull

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

It was the quiet parts of the hotel grounds where I found the Spanish Sparrows, the pair of Hoopoes, the resident Kestrel and the White Wagtail, one of the latter in particular which followed the gardener’s watering hosepipe so as to locate the resultant insects. There were Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs about the grounds but they kept out of sight in the strong sunshine of most days.

Kestrel

Kestrel

Spanish Sparrow

White Wagtail

Hoopoes mostly have that hair-gelled look, a sleeked back crest held in abeyance until some fool with a camera interrupts a feed and causes a moment of anxiety when the feathers fan out. 

 Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

As very birder knows, there’s a price to pay for a spot of birding, brownie points to be earned and then banked for another day with bins and camera. Here in Costa Calma it’s the “African” market where bartering is the order of the day followed by a glass or two of wine reflecting on the fading light and planning the day to come. 

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Anyone For a Massage?

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

There’s local news soon from Another Bird Blog plus more pictures from Fuerteventura. In the meantime the blog is linking to Weekly Top Shot  and Anni .

The Pilling Way

Another cool, cloudy start saw me at Fluke Hall earlier than most, with just one car in the doggy walkers starting grid. The brambly hedgerow there just behind the sea wall is the best place to find the first Whitethroat, this morning’s bird obliging with a blast of scratchy song the moment the car door opened. 

Whitethroat

I set off towards Ridge Farm, and then negotiated the Pilling Puzzle, hoping for other bits and bobs along the way which heads back to the sea wall. I kept a wary eye on the menacing sky which threatened an April shower or two as I logged 4 singing Skylark, 5 Swallows dashing east, a couple of Linnets and a field with 40+ Woodpigeon and 2 Stock Dove. A Collared Dove obliged by staying on the gate post, but this was to be my best photo opportunity of the morning, hence the filler landscapes and peas on a drum later in the post. 

Collared Dove

Pilling Puzzle

Pilling Sky

Back in Fluke Hall wood I logged my first Blackcap of the year, singing as tiny Blackcaps do at a volume sufficient to be heard many, many metres away. Also here in the shelter of the woodland, 2 Willow Warblers and a Chiffchaff. 

Along Backsands Lane a roadside Kestrel carrying prey appeared to be hurrying towards Damside where a pair nest most years, and as I stopped to watch the Kestrel I noted a pair of Redshanks together in the wet field. 

At the car park I broke off birding to admire an old motor vehicle. In some ways out-in-the-sticks Pilling is a tad out of date, stuck in its ways even, but not when it comes to money. The owner of this Austin Seven pick-up offered to sell me the vehicle for £10,000. I told him I could buy a good Canon lens with ten grand, but he just gave me an old fashioned look. 

Pilling Transport

 It was a great morning to be out, even if I wasn’t seeing many birds along the way to Pilling Water: 1 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, 2 Tufted Duck, 2 Little Grebe, 2 Meadow Pipit and 8 Skylark. At Pilling Water I stopped to count the geese as there looked more than of late and came up with 600+ Pink-footed Goose and 1 Brent Goose. Looks like there’s been an influx of geese from Norfolk where the majority of the wintering Brent Geese belong to the Dark-bellied form bernicla. The geese were distant, more so when a jogger came along the sea wall behind me to spook them further away. 

 Brent Goose with Pink-footed Goose

Not much else along here, 2 Teal and a Shoveler on the wildfowler’s pools, more Skylarks and a flock of 45 Golden Plover, attacked at one point by a Peregrine which flew off when at first it didn’t succeed. 

 Golden Plover and Lapwing

Back at the car park I took the picture below. I am a dog lover, grew up with dogs and have the scars to prove it. Nowadays some dog owners are extremely selfish and inconsiderate to the extent that the latest fashion is to discard bags of dog shit in public places where they expect volunteers or poorly paid public servants to pick it up instead of the owners taking it back home where it belongs. I’ll bet they were visitors to a local caravan park or incomers – Pilling People simply don’t do that. 

Litter Louts

Lazy Day

More than a week on I think I’m still suffering from post-holiday blues and lazyitis. So when Will said he wasn’t available for ringing, coupled with an overnight layer of ice on the car, I had a lie in until I felt like doing a spot of garden ringing to get back in the swing of normality.

All ringers know that the quickest way to clear a garden chockfull of birds is to put up a mist net, and predictably my previously busy garden went suddenly quiet as the birds took off to neighbours’ peanut and seed hoppers, neatly avoided my freshly filled Niger bait. I caught the usual garden fare, Goldfinch, Blue, Coal and Great Tit plus Blackbirds and House Sparrows old and new, but it’s good to see Goldfinch numbers building up in January and with luck they will bring along a few Siskin and Redpoll soon.

Coal Tit
Goldfinch
House Sparrow

And to fill the page, some final bird pictures from Lanzarote. There are also a few non-bird pictures which may raise a smile or provoke a few comments, especially since previous ones proved popular with some blog readers. After this no more pictures from Lanzarote, promise.

Spanish Sparrow
Best Of Pals - Teguise
Street Food - Teguise
Mother-In-Laws Lanzarote Style
Yellow-legged Gull
Audience - Teguise
Collared Dove
Street Entertainer - Teguise
Southern Grey Shrike
Shopping Bag- Puerto Del Carmen
Common Sandpiper
Famara