The Sparrows Feed The Blackbirds by Trevor Thorn

Picture: Credit Pixabay free image

The sparrows feed the blackbirds?

Yes! It’s true. But before I explain, I’ll admit to this post being something of an experiment. 

The experiment is designed to test a simple hypothesis: whether a cryptic headline will promote a blogpost on an authors’ website to an expanded audience.

The thinking behind this question had two ‘roots’. First there was the observational element which surprised me, so I hope it will provoke some straightforward curiosity. Second, I hope that I might attract some interest from relatively inexperienced bird-watchers who are not yet at the stage when they will immediately relate to the scenario that drives the headline. It would be hugely helpful if readers who fall into either of these categories could identify themselves in the comments. That might help other authors as well as me to look even more keenly at those little quirks of everyday life that will seize the imagination of new readers. Of course, those new readers may not stay on a site -but they just might. And even better, they might do some free promotional work by commenting on social media or even across dining tables as the world becomes just a little bit less risky to entertain friends.

Well! that’s the hypothesis. So what is the back-story? It derives in an unexpected lockdown change of activity. For several years we have had a bird feeding station that can be observed from the windows by the kitchen sink and from one side of our dining room. For years as we pursued a fairly frenetic lifestyle, there was no regular routine of either feeding the birds or watching them. Just occasionally we would buy a bag of wild bird seed and similarly, just very occasionally we might spot something of interest such as a number of long tailed tits passing through. But we did not have a regular clientele.

Come lockdown 1 we added wild birdseed, sunflower hearts and peanuts to the shopping list and the birdfest began in earnest. Goldfinch, Siskin, Jackdaws, blue-tits and great-tits became regular visitors, but the sparrows came frequently and in number. So did the blackbirds: and we learnt.

We learnt that the blackbirds (two generations now) are ground feeders: they will not attempt to feed from the hanging feeders at all. So they depend on the bustling sparrows to drop enough of what they seize in their bills on the raised bed below. They do not go hungry!

So, there it is, the sparrows (and the other small birds) feed the blackbirds, and through more regular observation we see even the new generation of blackbirds fed by the parents from the crumbs that fall from the feeders. I would not have noticed that from our earlier more desultory bird-watching.

I will be watching, too, for other surprising moments from nature to see if I can attract the curious and the intrigued by headlines such as this.

Feedback from an earlier ‘Blogsperiment’ on a personal blog (http://crossandcosmos.blogspot.com )

On 28th August last year, I promised to report on whether there was any discernible effect on blog viewing brought about by posting a daily collection on a theme. The  blog referred to a ‘Creationtide’ collection, a period from 1st August until St Francis Day on 4th September.

I repeated the experiment during the period between Easter and the feast of Pentecost- a 50 day cycle based on 'The Jesus Prayer' in many languages.

The Creationtide collection, after a hesitant start, attracted approximately double my usual viewing rate whilst the Pentecost collection consistently attracted nearly 3 times my regular viewing figure. Now, obviously, this pattern of posting will not be practical for many blogging authors but I would, based on this admittedly ’thin’ sample suggest others might like to give the concept a try.