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Rowlands Gill
Tree Sparrows
(2005)
Alan Mould
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A single Tree Sparrow continued to visit my garden and as
last year is suspected of breeding. However no mate has been seen so it may
be hybridising with the local House Sparrow population.
By
mid May, things are
developing well, the local Tree Sparrow came into the garden yesterday (22nd)
with a very young fledgling, must have been just out of the nest and fed
it in our Cherry Tree for a while.
It was very different from House Sparrow young showing an obvious dark cap,
but whether true Passer montanus or hybrid its too early to say. I
kept a lookout most of the day and eventually 2 very young fledglings and
2 slightly older birds were seen feeding with the adult, all showing dark
caps. Another older bird was also seen, perhaps the long lost partner of
my Tree Sparrow, but if this is the case it was not a true montanus. Have
attached a couple of not very good photos for your perusal, one showing 2
of the fledglings and one showing the adult and the unknown. It wasn't
all good news yesterday though, a dead fledgling was found on the patio,
unsure of what species, either a cat kill or a greenhouse strike. A couple
of photos are shown below.
Tree Sparrow
was back with one of the fledglings this morning so hopefully will be using
my 'restaurant' regularly so will keep you posted on any developments.
All Comments are welcome
