Comments on: Sparrow goodness

By: jason

jason — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:08:33 +0000

Hi, Ridger! Thanks for visiting. White-throated sparrows showed up a week or so after most of our other sparrow species–but boy did they show up in force. They are indeed cool little birds!

By: The Ridger

The Ridger — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:53:50 +0000

Saw my first white-throated sparrow (or at least the first I id’d as such) last week. What a cool little bird!

By: jason

jason — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:02:13 +0000

I’m glad you like them, Clive! I was especially fond of the female house sparrow. She perched like that for several minutes and watched me as I snapped her photo. Then we just stood and looked at each other for a while. She was a joy!

I read there was a 50% drop in house sparrow numbers in the UK–and it happened in just 10 years. Very troubling. I don’t think I’ve seen any news on what might be causing the losses.

I’m very much with you on Rick’s work. I’m a big fan–and I envy his photographic gift!

By: jason

jason — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:58:34 +0000

Thanks, Rick! I’ll admit the number of sparrow species here jumps significantly in winter. We still have a good selection during the rest of the year, but from now through next spring is a veritable banquet of visitors.

And you’re much better at the in-flight photos than I am. If I get one, it’s usually by luck or accident–mostly accident, I suspect.

By: Rick Lieder

Rick Lieder — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:19:44 +0000

Clive! The interweb is a small world.

Thanks for the nice words, it’s good to see a fellow sparrow-lover here.

By: Clive Hicks-Jenkins

Clive Hicks-Jenkins — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:27:30 +0000

Another set of wonderfully characterful photographs. I particularly like the female house sparrow looking as though she’s trying to master walking on stilts. (But I must curb my tendency to anthropomorphism!)

Here in the UK there’s been a massive and worrying decline in the once commonplace house sparrow. Decimating viruses and plentiful predators in city gardens have been variously blamed, but the jury seems to be out on any one specific cause. (Probably because there isn’t one, Just the steady drip of mounting odds against!) Luckily we have a thriving population in our garden here in the Ystwyth Valley, supported by my keeping the bird feeders appropriately stocked throughout the seasons.

Good to see Rick Lieder here at Xenogere. Another genius of bird and insect photography. Do visit his marvellous site. Hi Rick! Please give my love to Kathe.

By: Rick Lieder

Rick Lieder — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:16:23 +0000

Excellent post. Sparrows are too often ignored.

I wish I had more sparrow species here, I seem to be specializing in photographing them in flight.

Here’s an image showing just how brilliant they can be:

By: jason

jason — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:54:19 +0000

Glad you like them, Amber! And I needed that lesson…so I figured why not share.

By: Amber Coakley

Amber Coakley — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:21:16 +0000

Wonderful images, and like Mary said – good lesson!

By: jason

jason — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:07:53 +0000

Thanks, Mary! And I’m right there with you: There have been times when I’ve been disgusted with myself for not being able to ID a sparrow. Like shorebirds, sparrows can be a heck of a challenge.