Country diary: the shy side of our cheeky sparrows

Claxton, Norfolk: House sparrows may have earned a reputation for audacity, but they’re also cautious and camera-shyIt’s a customary ritual at ours to take out the previous night’s scraps to feed the sparrows. Brown and anonymous in plumage they may be, but the birds are also invariably invisible at the hedge bottom, where they maintain a perpetual, self-absorbed palaver.The amusing process usually goes something like this: the mere sound of the door sparks a lull in proceeding