Sparrow

[ams]

Line and Inktense Wash, about 5"x5" in XL Mixed Media sketchbook.

 

[Jo Castillo]

Awww, Anne. This made me have a big smile.

 

[ams]

Awww, Anne. This made me have a big smile.

Glad you liked it Jo.

 

[Sanlynn]

It’s so fluffy! Great work, Anne.

 

[Sanlynn]

It’s so fluffy! Great work, Anne

 

[Jade]

So cute!

 

[Donna T]

Wonderful!

 

[Balaji]

While this is a lovely sketch and your bird has such a contented look, it is quite unlike the sparrows that we have over here. In Chennai, where I live, sparrows were in plenty over fifty years ago. After that, over the last thirty years their numbers dwindled until sighting a sparrow was a rarity and cause for celebration. Thanks to the efforts of some conservationists, sparrows are once again making their presence felt in some parts of my city.

 

[ams]

While this is a lovely sketch and your bird has such a contented look, it is quite unlike the sparrows that we have over here. In Chennai, where I live, sparrows were in plenty over fifty years ago. After that, over the last thirty years their numbers dwindled until sighting a sparrow was a rarity and cause for celebration. Thanks to the efforts of some conservationists, sparrows are once again making their presence felt in some parts of my city.

We don't have as many birds as we used to either. I think it is the drastic reduction in the number of insects, so they don't have any food. The insects were pesky but necessary as we now see.

 

[Joy]

Great sketch; you captured it well.

While this is a lovely sketch and your bird has such a contented look, it is quite unlike the sparrows that we have over here. In Chennai, where I live, sparrows were in plenty over fifty years ago. After that, over the last thirty years their numbers dwindled until sighting a sparrow was a rarity and cause for celebration. Thanks to the efforts of some conservationists, sparrows are once again making their presence felt in some parts of my city.

Sorry about the bird loss there. We have quite a few different birds here, with many varieties of sparrows. The hummingbirds do not seem to be as numerous the last several years, though.

 

[Balaji]

We don't have as many birds as we used to either. I think it is the drastic reduction in the number of insects, so they don't have any food. The insects were pesky but necessary as we now see.

In Chennai we feel that the the dwindling sparrow population is not so much due to a decrease in insect population, but due to the loss of their preferred nesting spaces, and the decrease of food grains on the ground.

Sparrows used to nest under tiled roofs, where the roof meets the wall. Nowadays most houses have concrete roofs and no space for sparrows to build their nests.

And previously, grains used to be transported in jute sacks which allowed a considerable amount of grains to fall out through the space between the jute threads. Now grain is transported in synthetic sacks which do not spill any grains unless they are deliberately tampered with.

 

[Balaji]

Great sketch; you captured it well.



Sorry about the bird loss there. We have quite a few different birds here, with many varieties of sparrows. The hummingbirds do not seem to be as numerous the last several years, though.

Thank you Joy.
I'm sorry to learn about your hummingbirds. I hope this is only a temporary dip in their numbers. Over in Chennai I was pleasantly surprised to learn that we had a greater variety of birds than I had imagined. But crows seem to have displaced most other birds in the urban areas. They are highly visible, in very large numbers, and make a huge racket day and night. I think the light pollution keeps them awake through the night.

 

[Joy]

Balaji, we live in the suburbs and there are large amounts of crows that are quite noisy from sunrise on. They will tear at garbage bags, make noise on the roof hopping, and bully other birds. We also have starlings that come in huge flocks and eat all of our birdseed. We see quite a lot of wildlife, including deer in our neighborhood almost daily. Also racoon, fox, groundhog, wild turkey, hawks and an occasional black bear.