I haven't seen a sparrow at home for months. Not that I miss them, I can't stand the little beggars. But we have had masses of them for years, pooping on our deck and nesting everywhere. Now, none. I was doing a job in the the garden for Pat on the other side of town a while ago and when I mentioned it to her husband Mal he said the same was the case there, now that I had mentioned it.
Also, I have not had one European wasp queen come in the house with the firewood this winter. Other years on most armfulls of wood there is one or more of them, which are hibernating, and they come 'alive' when warm temps inside thaw them. None this year. There were very few flying outside in the late summer and autumn come to think of it, which is usually their peak time. And I only had to poison one nest in the garden last summer, normally it is several.
It must have been a lousy year for wasps, which fits, because it was a lousy year for bees, I didn't extract any honey as there was no surplus,I had to leave what the bees had on them to overwinter them. And it was extremely dry in late summer and March. Hot too. Maybe the sparrows died off. Must have. They are a species introduced from England and I've heard they can die off in the heat.
But I'll bet there will be some breeding in spring somewhere not far away and they'll soon be back.
