Tree Sparrow
I’ve seen Tree Sparrows before. I visited Tree Sparrow farm to see them. That’s how sadly depleted their population is.
It reminds me of visiting Otmoor to see a Turtle Dove and finding it was purring in a tree below an A-frame board saying, “The Turtle Dove is usually up this tree”. That’s a bit sad, isn’t it?
I was delighted, then, to hear that there are breeding Tree Sparrows on Westray.
Aren’t they lovely?
I’m probably going to miss any young of theirs fledging, though, as I’m just off to Kenya for a few weeks volunteering in schools, and fitting in a small safari. I’ll bring you all the news here. My spine is tingling with excitement. I’ve wanted to go to Africa ever since I got my first book, when I was eight years old, called A Treasury of Natural History, by Bertha Morris Parker. It’s the first time I’d seen paintings of Hippos and Elephants and Giraffes. I can’t wait to see them all for real in the wild. I hope you’ll join me here for all the excitement.