Saturday 10 November 2012

House Sparrows: an invasive species



Yes, they were brought to the Brooklyn, New York, USA, in 1851. They are native to Europe and Asia.

They write of pest species birds, but I find the House Sparrows are precious little critters. They are absent from heavily wooded areas, grasslands, and deserts, preferring to live in the vicinity of humans, most often I see them when we eat outside in city restaurants. They are ubiquitous in our local municipal parks. For an excellent information piece by uCornell, click here.

They compete with house finches, and there are many 'pest' species that compete at feeders: grackles, starlings, pigeons, as well as the house sparrow. The more aggressive birds take it out on the less aggressive. I have noticed the chickadees being harassed by the blue jays, for example.

The crows are getting more aggressive at our feeder, as well.

Eating out is a whole new challenge when patrons feed them. Giving bread to birds is like giving them sugar.

Sparrow species:
chipping sparrow
redpoll
Camera Critters: #240
They are English SPARROWS (not related to North American sparrows but rather to African weavers) and were introduced 1850-52 from Europe to Brooklyn, NY, to control INSECT PESTS.
This little one was looking for food, too!
crow

grackle
seagull

10 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful collection of birds, my favorite is the Redpoll!

Misty DawnS said...

They may be trouble makers, but you got some beautiful photos of them!

DeniseinVA said...

I think they are wonderful and you took some great shots of them.

TexWisGirl said...

i like sparrows, too.

Anonymous said...

What a great series of shots. I didn't know that sparrows could be aggressive.

Anni said...

Wow....I really like these images you've shared today.

If you wish, stop by and add the link to this blog post on the Bird D'Pot weekend birding meme and share this with the rest of the the world.

Olga said...

I know that the sparrows have overtaken our bluebird houses for several seasons now. Still, I enjoy watching them--all the birds, really--at our feeders.

Red said...

Okay, I hate to rain on your party. The house sparrow is actually a finch and no relation the our native sparrows. An further I hate the little suckers because they are so mean to many of our native species.

Kay said...

House sparrows were a real problem in Illinois. Over here in Hawaii our problem birds, aside from pigeons, mynahs and doves are the tiny and pretty Java finches. They create incredible nesting garbage between the ceiling and roof.

Raya said...

Wow, such amazing photos of birds.. I have not seen anything like those here in Thailand!