On Saturday I encountered several female House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) with clumps of vegetation in their mouths and suspect that they are beginning to construct nests. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “House Sparrow prefers to nest in manmade structures such as eaves or walls of buildings, street lights, and nest boxes instead of in natural nest sites such as holes in trees.”
I know that some people resent the invasive presence of House Sparrows, which were introduced in the United States from Europe in 1851, because they sometimes displace native species. Personally I find them to be as interesting to observe and photograph as any other birds.
Perspective makes a difference—as a photographer I focus my attention on different aspects of my subjects than others may do. For, example, I know that farmers and gardeners will view some vegetation and insects as pests, while I may find them to be beautiful subjects. It is definitely a cliché, but there is also truth in the old saying that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 