In the Rocky River Reservation, the Valley Parkway crosses the Rocky River near Memorial Field. Every year, swallows nest under the bridge. Chuck loves to poke her head through the railing atop the bridge to watch them flit in and out.
We hiked down along the river and up to Stinchcomb before circling back to a trail that leads under the bridge. A parade of little adobe houses clung to the underside of the bridge. Cliff swallows were busy attending to the nests. But I also noticed that house sparrows had taken up residence in the neighborhood. They let the swallows do the work of nest building and then swooped in and took the homes for themselves.
I always thought of the sparrows as sweet, delicate little birds. I was so disappointed to learn that they are a non-native species introduced from England in the late 1800’s. They compete with other cavity nesting birds like swallows and bluebirds and they are known to attack the other birds and kill their young to take their nests.
I will never feel quite the same way about a house sparrow again!
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