There is a female house sparrow (Passer domesticus) on my patio at the moment.  I keep thinking she’s there to stay out of the rain.  Regrettably, I’m not entirely convinced of that.  She doesn’t fly away when I go out there.  Instead, she hops to the opposite side of the patio to stay away from me, and in doing so she demonstrates perhaps that she’s hurt or sick.  Her movements seem strained.  As long as I don’t approach her, she stays close to the living room doors.

I know she can fly because she’s flitted to the top of the fence and even to the tree, but only a few times, and she inevitably comes back to the safety and dryness of the patio as soon as an opportunity presents itself.

This has, of course, thoroughly entertained The Kids.  A bit earlier, Vazra, Loki, and Kazon were all sitting at the window stalking the poor lass and really giving it their all, replete with the hunter’s conversation (the sputtered meow cats do when they’re deep in a predatory trance) and plenty of straining to see her when she was right under the windows.

There’s nothing I can do for her as I don’t want to frighten her away if she isn’t feeling well.  Perhaps she’s just tired, or feeling a bit under the weather, or just wants to stay out of the rain for now.  There’s ample food and water available, so the best thing I can do is leave her be and see what happens.