I spent a day at Eldernell, near Whittlesey, Cambs, yesterday (23.9.04), testing compact binoculars for Bird Watching magazine with the Bogbumper. The advantage of the locality is that we could genuinely test the bins watching real birds. The best of a busy day's watching came in the form of Tree Sparrows using the feeders near the car-park. The Peterborough Bird Club keeps the feeders wells supplied, and thanks to the likes of Steve Gann and other keen volunteers, the seed is refilled every other day, or so, as the masses of finches, tits and buntings mucnh there way through the grub.
Although Eldernell is a traditional local site for Tree Sparrows, they have become increasingly hard to find there over recent years. Steve G told me that he hadn't seen a single one at the feeders this year and had never had a juvenile, so he was delighted when we told him that we had at least two adults and a juvenile regularly coming throughout the day. Surely, this is evidence of local breeding success of a declining and still locally-scarce bird. Hurrah!
Juvenile Tree Sparrow at the bird-feeders at Eldernell car-park, 23.9.04.
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