Summer Skies

I used to do a lot of bird watching and while I don't really go any more, it does make you more aware of the birds around you when you're just out and about in everyday life or walking the dogs across the fields. The summer months are the best when we can just sit in the back garden and watch the swifts skimming the skyline and the swallows and house martins performing daring low level stunts chasing after insects. The bird I see most often these days is the pied wagtail, which I've nick named the McDonalds bird because there is at least one in every car park. They can even be seen at the motorway services, at least somebody likes the food there! They've obviously adapted to change really well, while others like the humble house sparrow are struggling to cope. There are reasons why they aren't coping so well, but on the face of it, it does seem odd that the house sparrow is having a hard time when there have never been so many houses and the tree sparrow is clawing it's way back in some areas like our local RSPB centre.