1 October

It's not that I have not seen any sparrows since my last post, or even that I haven't taken any photo of any, but I have just been too busy to do anything with them.
I have just processed a selection I took on 1st October by the supermarket when I went to do the weekly shopping.



It was pretty hot that day...



As usual, there are more photos from that day on the Fulham Sparrows flickr album if you fancy.

Is it normal for a sparrow's tail to appear transparent through sunshine?

Last Friday lunchtime, it was really sunny and warm. I had decided to go and check on my patch as it would be low tide at the time.
When I arrived at Crabtree Wharf, as is pretty much always the case, there was a small group of sparrows in a bush by the Thames Path. I don't know if it was the fact that the sun was particularly bright, the angle of it, or that the sparrow was odd, but the tail of this sparrow appeared like transparent in the sunshine:





I'll admit these are not the best photos in the world... I unfortunately couldn't get another angle for another photo.

A small group split and went into smaller bushes by some railings, and I got some much more classic photos, like this one peeking out from behind a leaf:



or these 2 cheeky ones:



Don't you think their feet look like E.T.'s?

There are more photos from that day on the Fulham Sparrows flickr album if you fancy.

19 September 2009

As part of my patch walk that morning, I saw a few sparrows.
First, by Frank Banfield Park, I could hear some but did not locate them, though I saw 1 at the nests on Winslow Road on my way back.
On Chancellors Road, I saw a group of at least 6 alternating between a bush and guttering, occasionally going onto aerials with starlings:



I didn't see any by Riverside Studio, but managed to catch a few by Crabtree Wharf in a rare semi-cooperative mood to be on camera:





More photos in the flickr album.

13 September 2009

I went to check on the sparrows at Abbey Gardens this morning, as I had not done so for a while, and needed some fresh air.
All through the estate, could not hear or see any. Then, on the patch of green alongside (which name I still don't know), still no sign of them in the bushes, until I was almost back at Greyhound Road. I could hear an intermittent peep from a bush. Suddenly a woosh and a few more landed in that bush, but well inside. Another woosh and 10-12 flew from the bush onto 2 cherry laurels (?), where I managed to take 1 photo:



But that was it, because, as I was taking the photo, hence missing almost all the action, another bird, sparrowhawk maybe, flew by the trees and they all disappeared inside. I could again hear the occasional pip, but never saw any again.

Similarly, last Thursday, I didn't see any, nor hear any, on the path by the supermarket in Sands End. But, as I was leaving, suddenly, all the pigeons and black headed gulls lifted. A sparrowhawk briefly circled above the supermarket and disappeared towards Fulham Broadway.

let's start

To launch this blog, here is a photo I took this afternoon by the supermarket. This one obligingly posed for me, which is not often the case, so I grabbed the opportunity.