As Paul says House Sparrows are very sedentary and movements of up to c2km are the norm. Greater distances are occasionally recorded from colour ringing studies but over 20km is very rare. Up to 2002 there have only ever been 3 records of cross Channel movements from southern England to the near continent. Possibly they could have been carried by boats.
It was thought at one time that some birds were crossing the North Sea but again studies have not borne this out and it is believed that East coast influxes were just local coastal movements.
Paul Heaton said
Sat Apr 7 6:02 PM, 2018
House Sparrows , like most birds they have breeding areas, and will move around after breeding , most are sedentary, but some movement from the colony area to grains fields of a distance of about 2km has been recorded.
(info taken from a few books but Volume v111 of Birds of the Western Palearctic)
David Morris said
Sat Apr 7 3:25 PM, 2018
Hoping someone might be able to enlighten me with a query I have about House Sparrows...At this time of year, House Sparrows come into my garden, both to call, and to feed (although I haven't witnessed this so far this year, I have in previous years). Similarly, on the road I live on, male House Sparrows are much more evident this time of year, standing in gutters on roofs and singing away. But the rest of the year...nothing. None in the garden, none spotted out and about on my road, while other garden birds get seen all year round. In the centre of Chorlton there's a colony of them there are year round, but here they tend to be more seasonal.
So...do House Sparrows roam over a wider territory in the breeding season? Maybe both to find a mate and food as they have more mouths to feed?
As Paul says House Sparrows are very sedentary and movements of up to c2km are the norm. Greater distances are occasionally recorded from colour ringing studies but over 20km is very rare. Up to 2002 there have only ever been 3 records of cross Channel movements from southern England to the near continent. Possibly they could have been carried by boats.
It was thought at one time that some birds were crossing the North Sea but again studies have not borne this out and it is believed that East coast influxes were just local coastal movements.
House Sparrows , like most birds they have breeding areas, and will move around after breeding , most are sedentary, but some movement from the colony area to grains fields of a distance of about 2km has been recorded.
(info taken from a few books but Volume v111 of Birds of the Western Palearctic)