It's the sparrows, really, that made me realise I should feed the birds in winter. There's a large old laurel shrub at the front of the house, in our small front forecourt, and I remember the first winter after we moved in seeing a dead sparrow on the front wall, just below the laurel. At the time, I remember thinking it was sad, and remembering a very maudlin song by Simon and Garfunkel, about no one loving a little sparrow (not one of their best, I have to say). It was only later that I realised that I could maybe help the little sparrows by putting food out for them.
The bird feeding started with a couple of those red plastic nets full of nuts - a rather half-hearted attempt, but I didn't know any better. Later I realised that sunflower seed was preferred, and that sunflower seed hearts were even better. But sparrows will of course eat breadcrumbs too, and are generally grateful for anything - humble and undervalued birds that they are.
Since I've heard that numbers are declining, and that some gardens have no sparrows, I no longer take them for granted. Over the years, in this garden, I've developed an appreciation of the humble sparrow.
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