I have to admit it's important to adapt one's thinking in accordance with modernity. Being a 60 something year old male who grew up in Farm country in Canada I always regarded the house sparrow as an invasive pest. They would take over my treasured Tree Swallow nest boxes, killing adults, young and destroying eggs … Read more
Dear Birding-Aus readers, I am reading the e-mails on Melbourne "Sparrows" with interest and empathy. I currently live in (and work out of) London, UK. I copy an article below by the RSPB on the similar phenomenon in London as to its sparrow population. Before World War II the … Read more
The decline of house sparrows must be multifactorial. Although probably irrelevant in their overall population, small birds such as sparrows apparently made delicious pies, slowly cooked entire for hours until bones and all were soft enough to eat. These pies were responsible for the carnage of migrating songbirds in Southern Europe, which still goes on … Read more
My apologies to all … the email I sent a few moments ago should have used the word ROOST … not ROOT, although either word could be used in the context of the discussion! Stephen Ambrose Ryde NSW From: Stephen Ambrose <stephen@ambecol.com.au> Sent: 7 February 2019 2:45 PMTo: ‘Carl Clifford’ <carlsclifford@gmail.com>; ‘Michael Hunter’ … Read more
Hi all, For those who haven't seen the posts on Facebook, the Oriental Pratincole that has been hanging around Herdsman Lake in Perth has been re-identified as Australia's very first Collared Pratincole. As of yesterday evening the bird was still present. I imagine this site will receive many visitors across the weekend! This makes two … Read more