House sparrow

[HanDiiMaNz]

Is it me or do house sparrows prefer feeding from the ground? Because the house sparrow that regularly visits my garden tends to ignore the feeder and search for food on the ground.

And are house sparrows becoming a rarity?

Thanks.

[Connor7]

Im not sure about your rarity question but house sparrows seem to be regulary on our fat ball feeders


Thanks,

Connor

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by HanDiiMaNz

Is it me or do house sparrows prefer feeding from the ground? Because the house sparrow that regularly visits my garden tends to ignore the feeder and search for food on the ground.

The house sparrows we get in our garden don't ground feed too much at all. They do forage on the lawn under the feeders for dropped food but not as much. There are often several on the seed feeder at the same time, but they do ignore the fat feeder & peanuts.

[HanDiiMaNz]

Originally Posted by agrumpycow

The house sparrows we get in our garden don't ground feed too much at all. They do forage on the lawn under the feeders for dropped food but not as much. There are often several on the seed feeder at the same time, but they do ignore the fat feeder & peanuts.

Stange, the tits seems to hop onto the feeder quite willingly but the sparrow has none of it. And the fact that the feeder has wild bird mix in it.

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by HanDiiMaNz

Stange, the tits seems to hop onto the feeder quite willingly but the sparrow has none of it. And the fact that the feeder has wild bird mix in it.

Strange isn't it, the tits & sparrows feed quite happily on the same feeder at the same time here The only time they stay away is if the robins are around which have young are being very territorial at the moment.

As to your question about rarity, the RSBP website says they are on the red list because they are declining, although, I see no sign of it here

[HanDiiMaNz]

Originally Posted by agrumpycow

Strange isn't it, the tits & sparrows feed quite happily on the same feeder at the same time here The only time they stay away is if the robins are around which have young are being very territorial at the moment.

As to your question about rarity, the RSBP website says they are on the red list because they are declining, although, I see no sign of it here

Ah, well that's good

[Jenny W]

Tree Sparrows are very much 'feeder birds' but House Sparrows seem more variable. They will readily feed from feeders, but also will happily feed on the ground.

They have declined massively since the 1970's and are indeed red listed and a BAP prioroty species. BTO Common Birds Census/Breeding Bird Survey data suggest a -70% change in population size since the late 70's.

[HanDiiMaNz]

Originally Posted by Jenny W

Tree Sparrows are very much 'feeder birds' but House Sparrows seem more variable. They will readily feed from feeders, but also will happily feed on the ground.

They have declined massively since the 1970's and are indeed red listed and a BAP prioroty species. BTO Common Birds Census/Breeding Bird Survey data suggest a -70% change in population size since the late 70's.

Ouch, so i suppose it is a necessity to feed them, ground or feeder.

[Jenny W]

Yeah, keep up that feeding!

It's crazy when you think about it - when our nest box scheme started the people running it were moaning (well not moaning exactly - you know what I mean!) that all they ever got in the boxes were House Sparrows, now we don't get any and would be over the moon if we had them using our boxes!

[Pippa]

Hi H,

House Sparrows feed anywhere.Ground/feeders/gardens/tables and fields,you name it, they will adapt.So pleased to say they are still quite common here and my OH digs my neighbours border every week as she doesnt plant it up just so they can dust bathe too.I have 2 nesting in our eaves and know they are several nests close by.

Moved last year from a garden which had around 50 visiting per day.I understand that is still the case.