Supping Sparrows
Back in July, I wrote about my attempt to capture video of birds having a feeding frenzy at a makeshift feeder that my dad assembled. However, Mother Nature had plans of her own that day. Since then, I have been able to record that footage. Also, since that time, my computer died and I have moved. With things finally settled, I'm now able to share this avian buffet with you.
Below are some of the highlights from the video. Following that is the video, itself.
Sparrows, Sparrows, And More Sparrows
These birds are a very common sight where I live. Specifically, the House Sparrow. They almost always hang out in a small flock and can be seen year round. A big staple of their diet are seeds, so a seed feeder is sure to attract them.
Male House Sparrows have a brown color with a gray belly. They can also have a black patch on their throats. The females are slightly smaller with a light brown color. They also have a light stripe on the sides of their heads.
I just love watching birds. They bring me great joy. The way they move and interact with each other fascinates me. The video below is 15 minutes long. I didn't want to leave out one second of these supping sparrows. At one point, a Black-capped Chickadee appeared. Only to be rudely driven off shortly thereafter.
There was a lot of seed being thrown around that day. Some of the sparrows seemed to really enjoy splashing the contents of the dish over it's edges. At this point there was almost as much feed on the ground, below, as there was left in the feeder. More sparrows were hopping around in the grass, pecking them up.
The two birds in these last series of pictures are included here for a reason. They engaged in a curious behavior that I had not seen from any other pairs of sparrows. One sparrow kept putting it's beak into the open mouth of the other. This is a behavior I typically associate with the feeding of a baby bird. But, the bird being fed didn't appear to be a baby. Perhaps they were making out. I don't really know. If you have any ideas, leave a comment below.
That concludes the picture portion of this show. The video portion can be seen below. Thanks for reading.
Wherever we are, we are surrounded by nature. It's always trying to communicate with us. Take time to notice. #NoticeNature.
All gifs and images are my own unless otherwise stated.
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beauty photos!
Thank you!
nice photos and description
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It was fun to watch the birds scatter any germinating seeds and husks while they dove into the buffet!
I had to laugh when the one sparrow hopped around the feeder and swiveled his head. Maybe he was checking to see how long he'd have the seeds all to himself?
My favorite part was the little sparrow hopping 3/4 of the way around the dish to find the perfect place to hop in and munch away.
The honeymooning couple with the courtship feeding were a trip to watch. 😻 I would say I'm glad that humans don't shove food into the mouths of their mate but... the internet has taught me otherwise. 😆
To me, it looked like that one bird was standing guard while the others were away. I always wonder what those lone birds are thinking after the rest suddenly fly away.
The internet is a wonderful educational tool. 😵