What they like

Untidy edges. Hedges, ivy, hawthorn, privet. And above all: a place to potter about. Leave a strip of grass longer, don’t sweep everything clinically clean. A little patch of sand? Great — it’ll bathe there. Hang up a sparrow box or a roof-tile nest box, preferably under the eaves and not baking in the afternoon sun. Sparrows like living near other sparrows. So: multiple entrance holes, or a row of boxes.

Ecological importance

The house sparrow is your free cleanup crew. In the breeding season kilos of caterpillars, larvae and other insects get taken to the young. Outside that time it eats seeds and crumbs. Sparrowhawk and cat find it too: the house sparrow is fuel for the whole neighbourhood ecosystem.

When in the Netherlands

All year round. Resident.

Status

Common, but has declined in many places. In villages and towns still a familiar neighbour, as long as there is food and nesting sites.