Bird Mysteries.

All my life I’ve regarded the House Sparrow as the most ubiquitous of all the small passerines. I’m sure that’s how we all regard them because, apart from a drop in their numbers a few years ago from which I gather they’ve recovered, they always have been the most ubiquitous of the small woodland birds. To people like me who are interested in birds, they’re the very essence of ordinariness and durability.

Whatever else has chosen to appear or not to appear in my garden, the space around the house has never been short of sparrows. They nest every spring in the roof space at the top of the building. And whichever route I’ve taken on my daily walks, there have always been several flocks in different places twittering to themselves on top of the hedgerows. That’s why I was so surprised when I realised a few days ago that I haven’t seen a single sparrow anywhere in the Shire all summer. I regard that as a most remarkable and mysterious fact.

So what has become of the once-so-numerous House Sparrow, and is it worth speculating on possible reasons for its disappearance? I don’t suppose it is, but if anyone has the answer I’d be pleased to hear it.

And talking of birds, I saw the bodies of three Wood Pigeon road kills on my walk this morning. It isn’t uncommon to see the odd one every two or three weeks, but to see three in one day in different locations is also unusual. Is this another of those signs from the universe to which we should be paying heed, and do I really want to know? I’m not sure that I do. The sight of a partially squashed and often headless bird is not a particularly pleasant one.