Do the sparrows go on holiday?

Sparrows nest all around our house, in the roof, and the bushes. They have all gone, no cheeping in the hedges opposite.
Fear not! The will return. This is all part of their natural behaviour.
The following is from a bird magazine.

"House Sparrows are among the most sedentary British birds with even juveniles nesting not too far from their parents.

In late summer, after the breeding season, House Sparrows often disappear from their colonies for a few weeks to feed on grain and weed seeds in nearby farmland or grassland. behaviour. "

Ignore the last word ?.

Oh good this has made my day x

unfortunately i found one dead one on Sunday under the hedge but since then there have been lots of youngsters messing about in the hedge, all day really. Still none by the barn but at least we have lots of youngsters

Yes, they're on holiday here, at least a couple of dozen of them.

I think they're enjoying themselves, , they are emptying the feeders here faster than we can fill them!

Croeso y Cymru!

I’m not seeing any birds these days as I’ve had to stop putting food out due to a family of rats that have taken over that part of the garden. I have put one of those mouse and rat deterent plug ins in the shed though and I’m hoping it covers a large enough area to allow me to put food out again. It’s only a small garden.

Many sparrows living in the trees on my boundary, along with one robin who pops in occasionally. Sparrows are loving it at the moment, little beaks pecking the food appearing from the ground after removing paving slabs. Twice a day they come to eat. A joy to watch. Others appearing, pigeons, very large, blackbirds and the odd starling.

Pigeons missed 99% of most lessons, they have 100% attendance at procreation classes and eating patiently grown vegetable plants.
Now you mention it, our sparrows have disappeared in the last couple of weeks.

They were all in a pyracantha bush in my garden this afternoon. It’s near the sweet peas, and when I went out to pick them, about 30 sparrows all flew out together, they made a right racket. Quite surprising as until two weeks ago a thrush was nesting there, I have no idea what they were doing.

About a dozen of them were having dust baths at the weekend.
Getting ready for their holidays perhaps?

They will be keeping a low profile so that they can have a full moult. This can leave them vulnerable and poor fliers. Moult can take six weeks or so, after which they will be spruced up to face winter.

There are quite a lot of swifts this year, more than usual. What I am missing are frogs. Where did they go ?

They seem to have had a really successful year and there are more than usual twiddling about all day in the garden. We have a winter clematis which faces south and they use that as cover and make little spaces in it to sit and sunbath.

I fed them every morning as they empty the feeders every day. Costs a small fortune.

Well my front hedge is absolutely FULL of sparrows now scratching themselves. I can't work out whether they are babies or just itchy older ones but they are all very entertaining

They could be this year's young or a mix of older and younger birds. This from the RSPB:

House sparrows usually nest in loose colonies and since they don't defend a proper territory, nests can be as little as 20-30 cm apart.

Nests are often placed in holes and crevices within buildings and they will readily use nestboxes. Free-standing nests are also frequently built, in creepers against walls and in thick hedges or conifers.

Pairs often remain faithful to their nest site and to each other for life, although a lost mate of either sex is normally replaced within days. A hole is filled with dry grass or straw with a nesting chamber lined with feathers, hairs, string and paper. Feathers may be plucked from a live pigeon!

The main nesting season is from April to August, although nesting has been recorded in all months. Most birds lay two or three clutches, but in a good year fourth attempts are not uncommon.

The young fledge 14-16 days after hatching. They are unable to feed themselves for about a week after leaving the nest and are cared for by their parents for around a fortnight. Post-fledging care is frequently left to the male as the hen prepares for the next brood. She can begin laying her next clutch of eggs within days of the previous brood leaving the nest.

Newly independent young often gather in large flocks, anywhere there is an abundance of seed, invertebrates and other suitable foods. These may be areas of wasteland or around garden feeding sites. Later, rural flocks may move on to grainfields to feed on the ripening grain, often joined by adult birds, once they have finished nesting. Flocks tend to break up through the autumn and birds return to their nesting colony sites.

Sounds like your "lost" birds are back.

I have quite a variety of birds which I feed according to their preferences. What I’m plagued by are jackdaws - they lift and throw the moss off the roof and hammer on the upstairs windows at 6.15 almost every morning. It’s like a horror film!

Thank you Silverbridge

I really laughed at this

Pairs often remain faithful to their nest site and to each other for life, although a lost mate of either sex is normally replaced within days

I noticed today the sparrows rule the middle to upper part of hedge, the dunnocks are at the bottom
the blue tits think they are in charge of the tree above but robin thinks it rules all of them
then the blackbird just randomly goes in the hedge to shit them all up
and the kestrel and goshawks just pick them all off and the magpies take their opportunities

It is like being human

Our sparrows are back from their holidays on the farm. The hedge, and bushes are full of them.
The collared doves are still waking me up far too early in the mornings.
I seem to have lost the jackdaws. I wonder where they have gone!

I have sparrow news

They are moving back into the outbuilding roof en masse

We have loads of sparrows, haven’t noticed any nest clearing yet though. Will keep an eye on them.

On Sunday I sat in a pub garden with my grandson and we were kept entertained by the many sparrows darting in and out, and onto, the tables and picking up titbits. We took lots of photos of them.
Also, there were a large amount of swifts about, sitting on the telephone line and then swooping low over us. Grandson asssured me they were swifts, not swallows. But shouldn't the swifts have left for abroad by now?

Henetha, I think they are a bit late this year as they are still here too.

Sparrows are entertaining and they are so naughty

Thanks, JaneJudge. I was quite puzzled by this, but it seems they are staying here later than usual this year. I'm glad you confirmed it. .
Yes, the sparrows were marvellous to watch. They are so daring and cheeky.

As someone upthread said, it’s moulting time for many species of bird just now, after the busy time of breeding, so they tend to hide away until new feathers have come through properly, as they are very vulnerable to predation during this process, and can’t fly as well as normal. I’ve not seen or heard many birds about at all at the moment, other than the starlings. They are about, just lying low.
I’m not sure about the nest debris being thrown about on the ground, I can’t say I’ve noticed any, but I suppose it makes sense to have a clear out. Occasionally see some dried up moss thrown about but assumed that was done by the blackbirds during nesting time and when searching for food. ?