Another of the birds that we saw in the cafe garden at Danby Moors Centre was this female house sparrow. It could well be a juvenile as well, since it still has quite a yellow beak. She spent quite a while on this picnic table hoping for a few crumbs to be dropped for her.
The RSPB website describes them as follows: "Noisy and gregarious, these cheerful exploiters of man's rubbish and wastefulness have managed to colonise most of the world. The ultimate avian opportunist perhaps. Monitoring suggests a severe decline in the UK house sparrow population, recently estimated as dropping by 71 per cent between 1977 and 2008 with substantial declines in both rural and urban populations. While the decline in England continues, Breeding Bird Survey data indicate recent population increases in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
House sparrows can be found from the centre of cities to the farmland of the countryside, they feed and breed near to people. It is a species vanishing from the centre of many cities, but is not uncommon in most towns and villages. It is absent from parts of the Scottish Highlands and is thinly distributed in most upland areas."
While there is obvious concern about declining numbers, there are still thought to be 5.3 million breeding pairs in the UK.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It was lovely to sit and enjoy watching the birds and their antics, while enjoying cups of tea and cakes full of calories!
Our journey back to York was by a lengthy route through Guisborough, Stokesley, along Bilsdale to Helmsley where we changed buses for the last leg back to York. There was a much more direct bus from Danby to Helmsley, but we wanted a look at some of the places that we might visit as the summer progresses.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It was lovely to sit and enjoy watching the birds and their antics, while enjoying cups of tea and cakes full of calories!
Our journey back to York was by a lengthy route through Guisborough, Stokesley, along Bilsdale to Helmsley where we changed buses for the last leg back to York. There was a much more direct bus from Danby to Helmsley, but we wanted a look at some of the places that we might visit as the summer progresses.
Ian
I'm not sure what was happening, but she was far less active than many of the more mature birds.
Ian
Thank you - she posed very nicely for this shot!
Ian
Thank you Kathy - the birds at the Moors Centre were quite cooperative!
Ian
I thought so as well!
Ian