Our house provides nesting opportunities for sparrows on all sides. Somewhat ramshackle, with plenty of holes in the thick walls and under the eaves, it is perfect for the communal sparrow lifestyle. Every year we think of filling the holes, and then to decide not to. The sparrows do no harm. We’d miss them. Here are some chicks in the most easily accessible hole for photography. It is used every year, usually twice. An iPhone is best for the purpose because the flash is right next to the lens.
The gable end wall of our house is very old thick stone, and full of holes. Some are deep enough for sparrows to nest in, which they do every year. Mrs RH is quite keen to fill the holes; I enjoy the annual sparrow nesting routines in the holes, and in the gaps under the gable eaves. Last year I recorded the sounds emerging from the largest hole as the chicks grew. This year, I tried photography. The problems, without special equipment, were lighting and focus. I wasted a vast number of shots on useless photos before realising that I only had to wait until the evening sun was full on the wall. Here are some resulting photos. A few days later, they had flown!
Apart from the noise of the chicks awaiting food, nothing much to see here…
Half an hour later the sun has helpfully moved round
The ‘money shot’!
I previously posted about the sparrows that started building nests this year in small cavities in the stone wall at the gable end of our house. The top room, now a bedroom, was formerly the hayloft – the brickwork shows the extent of the hayloft entrance
The walls are very thick, so there is plenty of room without the risk of birds bursting through into the room beyond…
Today the wall was busy with adults coming and going. I tried to see if I could get a picture of sparrow chicks, but they were too far into the cranny. Turn up the volume and you can hear them, though…
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ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY 