Volunteer help wings in for sparrows at nature reserve

Jenna Berry spends hours every week watching the birds at the charity’s Bempton Cliffs site near Bridlington.

More than a dozen pairs of tree sparrows live on the reserve all year round, many using nest boxes put up for them to raise their young, while others nest on the visitor centre roof.

In autumn and winter they are joined by tree sparrows escaping the harsh weather in Scandinavia.

Ms Berry said: “Tree sparrows are fascinating little birds and a far cry from the 200,000 seabirds which many visitors normally associate with Bempton Cliffs.

“They are quite an attraction, especially for visitors from the south coast, who very rarely come across tree sparrows at home.

“As their name suggests, tree sparrows are quite happy living in trees. Because we don’t have many big trees at Bempton, we have put up nest boxes near the bird feeding garden, but for some reason, many of our tree sparrows seem to prefer using the gaps under the tiles of the visitor centre.

“While it’s great fun monitoring the Bempton tree sparrows, there’s a serious side to the work as well. We need to learn as much as we can about the birds, so we can help them in the future.”