Jul 52 min read

Tasha & Tommy Tree sparrow

Tasha and Tommy are now well settled into their new home, they brought masses of bedding in so much so we can’t see if Tasha has laid any eggs in there yet!!!

By the by let’s look at a few tree sparrow facts; How would you identify a Tree sparrow from a House sparrow?

House Sparrow Tree Sparrow

Photo's courtesy of Paul Hackett

Tree sparrows are smaller in size than a House sparrow, they have a brown chestnut head, the back of the neck is rather grey, they have white cheeks and collar with a contrasting black cheek spot. Tree sparrows are typically more shy than house sparrows (not here in The Highlands!! ) Tree sparrows saw a massive decline thought to be around 93% between the years of 1970 and 2008, recent breeding survey data is quite encouraging, suggesting the numbers are now on the increase, but this is from a very low point. See the map below from the RSPB site.

Click arrow to swipe images.

A Tree sparrows beak is brown/black, their diet is seeds and insects, although they are somewhat partial to Feldy golden food balls.

They are approximately 14cm in length, the habitat they prefer is woodland, farmland, urban and suburban, there is approximately 200,000 territories. These little birds have a wingspan of 20-22cm and weigh around 19-25 grammes. Tree sparrows can lay as many as 5-6 eggs and may have multiple clutches (2-3) with the first clutch being laid in May but they nest through to late July/August. Incubation period is usually 12-13 days and fledging between the 15th -17.5th day.

The typical lifespan of a Tree sparrow is 2-3 years typically breeding at year 1. As much as I said the Tree sparrows have evicted the Blue tits in my previous blog, it’s really quite amazing we have Tree sparrows nesting in our garden. We know last year we had at least 2 clutches from 2 nest boxes so this means the population here is surely growing. Our last years nest boxes also appear to have Tree sparrows in, the Blue tits have poked their heads through the hole, but I am definitely seeing the Tree sparrows in more and more, unfortunately these are woodcrete nest boxes there isn't enough height to fit cameras in!! Hopefully within the next 2-4 weeks we may see little heads poking through the wonderful nest that Tasha and Tommy have made and we can share this with you on our social media.