common_nature | Baby Sparrows

You're viewing

common_nature
Create a Dreamwidth Account Learn More

Reload page in style: site light

rain_gryphon posting in

common_nature

Baby Sparrows are starting to grow feathers.

Sparrow babies. I have a four box Sparrow colony on the back of the house. These are the three babies in my D box today. Their eyes are open, and their feathers are starting to emerge from the quills. Alert little birds now, where only a few days ago they were naked and pink, and slept all the time. In a few more days they'll start exercising their wings, and wanting to look out the entrance hole to see what's outside.

Current Mood: cheerful

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

nanila

So smol! So snuggly! Awww.

From:

rain_gryphon

They're tiny, yeah. And they spend their time as babies all cuddled up in a pile.

From:

redsixwing

Oh goodness they're cute! <3

From:

rain_gryphon

They're so cute, yes! Sparrows are one of my favourites.

From:

yourlibrarian

How cool! We have a lot of house sparrows around us but I've yet to see a nest.

From:

rain_gryphon

Where are you looking? House Sparrows are cavity nesters, so you want to look up under the eaves of the house, in the little hidden spaces in your barn if you have one, and really any snug enclosed space six inches or so wide that they can get into. They can fit through an inch and a half hole, and are happiest with a tight fit, so bigger birds can't get in and eat their babies.

Mine are living in a four box sparrow colony - they like company, and a space that can accomodate several families is the best space in their POV.

I'm using Pennington blue bird boxes like they sell at Walmart. They're ideal for sparrows if you put them in a group like that. Another thing that makes a nesting area more desirable is an open landing area under their nesting space, with no obstacles or concrete, as the fledglings' first flights are rather fraught affairs, and it's best if there's nothing to crash into. In general, you want some cover near by (bushes, etc) where the young can spend their first few days out of the nest hidden while they learn to fly. That's attractive to small nesting birds in general.

Good luck in attracting them! They're some of the most entertainng birds to watch.

Edited Date: 2019-07-11 03:35 pm (UTC)

From:

yourlibrarian

We live in an apartment so we're restricted in a lot of ways. However we've had robin, duck, cardinal, and mourning dove nests on our balcony in the past. When the food is out sparrows are our most frequent visitors but it doesn't seem to extend to nesting.

Given the type of nests they prefer though I can see why -- we have nothing as secluded as the boxes!