Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, house sparrow, pampas grass, Penarth marina, sparrow, toetoe
At one end of my regular walk along the embankment of the Ely River where it flows in to Cardiff Bay, near the entrance to Penarth Marina, is a huge stand of what I presume is a type of pampas grass. I always look at it, partly because it reminds me of my New Zealand home (where we would call this by the Maori name Toetoe) and partly because it is often covered in House sparrows.
The birds seem to adore this grass. The sturdy stems provide convenient perches on which to sit and cheep their continuous sparrow conversations, and they pluck away at the fluffy plumes, presumably extracting edible seeds to munch on. And, when threatened by the local ginger-and-white cat, which is frequently to be seen staring hungrily in their direction, the sparrows can easily flit into the dense vegetation of the grass clump to escape the cat’s clutches.
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Yes, I heard that on GQT last week or sometime! I have no wish to grow any, my plot of land is too small anyway.
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They look good in the plant. Is it usually found in a marine environment? I know so little about it.
There is a small band of House Sparrows here, they enjoy emptying the seed feeders so that the Robin gets food on the ground…
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I think it grows pretty much anywhere and, in fact, the non-native NZ varieties are considered invasive species because of that.
I would think twice about planting it in your garden, however, as I also found this: ‘It is planted by some couples who practise swinging (sexual practice) as a way to indicate to other swingers that they enjoy that lifestyle.’ 😉
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