Mono Monday 383 ; S

Something beginning with ‘ S ‘ - Sparrow

Soggy sparrows!

Often overlooked when we’re out taking bird photos as I guess they’re not very eye-catching and they used to be 1000 a penny when I was a kid. I believe these are house sparrows, the numbers of which declined by 71% from 1977 to 2008. Still in decline in England, the numbers have increased in other parts of the U.K. and Northern Ireland. ( I’ve been reading the RSPB website! ).

There are also tree sparrows, but they are fairing even worse with an estimated 93% decline between 1977 to 2008. Recent breeding studies are positive though, as their numbers seem to be increasing, albeit from a very low point.

The Hebrew word for sparrow is dror, which also means freedom.

My friend’s daughter is called Dror ... although I call her Kashkash, because the Hebrew ‘r’ is difficult to pronounce properly if you’re not a native!

“ TWO r’s .... you’ve given her a name with two r’s?! How am I going to manage that?! “ I believe was my reaction when my friend told me that was the name she’d chosen!

Kashkash is what her older sister seemed to call her - they’re only 11 months apart in age and Lior is autistic so I guess she just used a word that meant something to her. If it’s good enough for Lior, it’s good enough for me ... plus I can pronounce it! Had I known Dror meant sparrow I think that would have been my name for her, but I didn’t discover that until I was watching a film in Hebrew with English subtitles some years later.

Here’s a link to Kashkash on her bat mitzvah kibbutz party day;

https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2201381841175315403

Sorry that was a long entry today! Got me all tearful, looking back through my Blips of that holiday.