Recently in Animals Category

I rescued a sparrow today. I had entered a bakery to buy something to eat, only to find a shop assistant and two women with their eyes wide open, telling me something about a bird.

I didn't immediately get what they meant, but when I looked where they pointed, I saw a sparrow, which had somehow found its way into the bakery and was now trying to fly out through the window pane, which was of course hopeless.

I think the sparrow didn't realise it was being saved, because as soon as I had caught it, it screamed as I have never heard a sparrow scream. It was obviously panicking, fearing for its life. I carried it out the door as quickly as I could and released it. It flew away instantly.

I know nothing about the mental capacity of sparrows, but I do hope it somehow understood that I had been trying to help. I couldn't quite forget the poor bird's screams, and my hands shook for about five minutes, as if they had absorbed some of the bird's fear.

I take this as a good sign, not as one of potential aphid infestation.

There are what must be millions of sciarids (fungus gnats) living in my plants' flower pots, most of them in my dracaena's pot, but it looks as if they are now also spreading to my chili plant pots.

I have been using yellow sticky boards with good success, catching thousands of them (see picture of last week's catch), but there seem to be more and more of them flying around, to an extent where I am afraid they might be taking over my living room.

Clearly, something needs to be done about them.