Lunch and a new bird: Tree Sparrow
No Comments »2nd January, 2009; Category: Finches
House Sparrow
2008 Holiday in New South Wales Trip Report #5
From Narrandera we travelled on towards Wagga Wagga, arriving in time for lunch. We sought out a shady spot in the local Botanic Gardens and soon were enjoying our picnic lunch. As I was eating I noticed that there were quite a few sparrows nearby.
The sparrows sounded different – not like the House Sparrows at home. I quickly zoomed in on two of them with the camera. A close examination of the photo proved correct; I had just added a new species to my Australian list, the introduced Eurasian Tree Sparrow. Unfortunately this does not qualify as an additional to my Life List because I had previously seen these sparrows near the River Kwai in Thailand. Never mind – it was a good sighting as I believe that they are not all that common outside Victoria.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
House Sparrows eating berries
House Sparrows are large members of the finch family of birds. As such, they are predominantly seed eaters.
In reality, House Sparrows are far more omnivorous than that. Sure, they do eat a lot of seeds. For this we are grateful at our place, otherwise we might not just be over run with weeds but positively lost in a jungle of undesirables. I had to struggle to find something positive about those pesky little critters that seem to breed like rabbits… actually – our rabbit population is now breeding like sparrows… but that’s a story for another day.
Observing several House Sparrows near our bird bath recently I was interested to see that, after a quick drink, they both went to a nearby bush. This plant happened to be a local species called Enchylaena tomentosa. It is also known by the common name of Ruby Salt Bush. We have a few around on our property but I didn’t think they had any fruit on them at present. The sparrows were quite obviously eating the berries.
I guess the House Sparrows do eat far more than just seeds. According to the record in HANZAB* they eat a wide range of insects, spiders, fruits, grains (cereal crops) and berries such as the Boxthorn and the Ruby Salt Bush. Some have even been observed eating the nectar from a variety of trees and bushes. And we mustn’t forget their scavenging habits of eating food scraps left by humans.
HANZAB also mentions that they can be a pest in vegetable gardens too. Most gardeners will quickly point out that the humble House Sparrow has a definite liking for young seedling plants and poultry lovers will keep the local population booming by supplying a steady gourmet food source in their chook yards.
It seems that the little House Sparrow has rather eclectic tastes.
Further reading:
- House Sparrows – Birds in Backyards site
- Australian Plant Society article on Ruby Salt Bush – with a photo of the plant and berries
- *HANZAB – Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds Volume 7
House Sparrow
European Greenfinch
5 Comments »30th October, 2007; Category: Finches
While having lunch at Strathalbyn (about 50 kilometres SE of Adelaide, South Australia) I heard several European Greenfinches calling in the trees in the park by the river. I tried to locate one of them in a tree nearby, but it insisted on keeping most of the tree between itself and my waiting binoculars. I finally had a brief – perhaps two second – glimpse of the bird before it flew away. It did not return before I had to leave.
The European Greenfinch is an introduced species to Australia. It is reasonably widespread through the south eastern parts of coastal Australia. I have only been able to record this species on a handful of occasions, so this was a special sighting. Because of my fleeting glimpse I was not able to get a photo. To see some photos, and more information about this species, click here.
Diamond Firetail Finch
Diamond Firetail Finch
Yesterday we were having lunch in the sunroom overlooking the bird baths in the garden. A single Diamond Firetail Finch delighted us by coming to drink several times from the bird bath. It gave me enough time to gather the camera from the office and take a few quickly snapped photos. These are the best two shots.
Diamond Firetail Finch
I was a delight to see this beautiful bird again after an absence of several months. It is widespread in our district but nowhere common. It is an infrequent visitor to our garden. I can’t add this species to the list of birds to have visited the bird bath as it has done so on several occasions before.
Related articles:
- Bird baths – an archive of articles about birds that have visited our garden bird baths.
- Visitors to our bird baths – lots of photos and a list of all the species to have visited our bird baths.
A Goldfinch at the Bird Bath
We have a constant parade of visitors to the bird baths we have in our garden. I haven’t done a statistical analysis, but I would say with confidence that the most frequent visitors would have to be the many New Holland Honeyeaters. They would be closely followed by the Pardalotes, both the Striated and the Spotted. The list of species seen drinking from the bird baths is growing. This has been particularly so during recent months. The summer has been very hot and very dry.
European Goldfinch
One recent addition to this list was the European Goldfinch. This introduced species is widespread in south eastern Australia, including Tasmania. I understand that while is it widespread and can be locally common, its numbers are not great anywhere. Here in my home town Murray Bridge in South Australia there are several colonies around town, including one large group living near the Post Office and Railway Station.
We live about 5km from the Post Office and the Goldfinch is only an occasional visitor to our garden. It is therefore an interesting addition to the list of birds that have visited our bird baths.
Related articles:
- European Goldfinch – another article about this species.
- Birds in the heat – more about birds at our bird baths.
- Time for a bath – visitors to our bird baths (including a complete list).
European Goldfinch