Tree Sparrow

A fairly miserable day, but during one brief sunny interval I captured this Tree Sparrow, as it watched other birds on the feeders.

Shyer than House Sparrows, the Tree Sparrows are also smaller and have chestnut brown head and nape. I think this is a fairly young one, as the adults have more colouring than this.

Apparently the species has declined seriously since the 70s, mainly because of changes in farming methods affecting their habitat. They are on the RSPB’s Red Alert. We are doing our bit here, as we think they nest in the garden and there are numbers of them around most of the year.