From: David Hutchinson <flora.fauna at live.com>
Subject: [Tweeters] House Sparrow

>Introduced and alien species, it is true, can stir up the blood. As a >restoration volunteer in Discovery Park, Scots Broom was a target of >annoyance.But now I have achieved peace with Cytisus scoparius, recognising >that it does well in distrubed and poor soils, making its own nitrogen. It >also provides cover for nesting and feeding of many small birds and mammals.

And there is even more reason to make peace with this lovely little bird.

Because I spent my childhood in the Midwest where House Sparrows are one
of the most common birds, it always seems strange to me for people to be
so concerned with it's alien-ness. After all, its ancestors have
probably lived in the USA longer than the ancestors of most of the
birders in the Pacific Northwest. And it is a rather attractive bird,
unlikely to displace any native NW birds since the HS tends to hang out
in urban areas and to frequent bird feeders without chasing away other
birds. If it becomes established in the area, it will certainly
increase the numbers of the Great Backyard Bird Count...