Getting better

I'm being watched. As I come and go to the backdoor and even when I'm in the kitchen I'm under constant observation - by a male sparrow in the hedge.

Photo: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

A pair of house sparrows are nesting in the eaves over our bathroom window and the kitchen is on the floor below. It means that when you're in the kitchen they're coming and going throughout the day.

The female keeps busy ferrying invertebrates to the nestlings, I watched yesterday as she 'tenderised' a beetle on the concrete of the drive before taking it to the nest. The male's role seems mostly to be watchman; it sits in the hedge chirping away and keeping an eye on us, the dog and cats.

Good to know that nationally the house sparrow's population seems to have stabilised after years in decline. Apparently sparrow numbers are now at a six-year high.