This was taken in the parking lot of a local grocery store. The shrubs dividing the lot from the street have attracted small numbers of house sparrows for the last few years, one of the few places where these once abundant birds can still be seen. Their numbers have declined dramatically over the last decade, not only in Ottawa, but throughout eastern North America. There are still some pockets of activity, where good numbers can be found, but such locations becoming less common. This is a European species, brought over by settlers in the 1800s, and so successfully adaptable were these birds that they spread far and wide across the continent. Local (Ottawa area) Christmas Bird Count records show this species (which is non-migratory)in significant decline.