Rookie Sparrows

I was wondering why so many plants on my patio had damaged new growth. Fledged sparrows. The sooner they perfect their skills, the better.

 

The sparrows earlier in the year just love the primrose flowers. They take the heads off and leave them nearby. What are they after? pollen/nectar? They don't touch, as far as we can see, any other flowers. Haven't noticed damaged plants due to fledglings though.

 

They're expert fliers now but at first they can't judge what will support their weight.
I rarely see cherry plum blossom. They love the buds. Fortunately they're not interested in the leaves or the tree would be sticks.

 

Another intake of trainees today. They're landing on the fence - so far

 

Our youngsters are very fond of any yellow flowers. First went the yellow Crocuses, then it was the Cucamelons.

They don't dare to touch Toms though.

Personally I believe they just think it's fun.

 

I miss the dozens of sparrows we used to have in our old garden. They were always entertaining. They are in gardens along the road though, because I can hear them
Any ideas as to how I can encourage them to reside closer?

 

All you can do is feed a suitable mix and cross your fingers @RowlandsCastle. If you have suitable sites they can nest in, that also helps. We have a healthy population around here, and they nest every year in the garden across from me, and we share the feeding for them. The youngsters have been in recently.
I've never found them eating yellow flowers. We don't have lots of yellow crocus - cream butnot yellow, but we also have plenty of native primulas and I used to have some yellow polyanthus, but they never touched them. Maybe someone else has more yellow flowers than me!

 

Thank you @fairygirl
We have plenty of suitable nesting sites, but we also have a family of brutish magpies, and wood pigeons. The odd low flying seagull doesn't deter them down the road, nor the parakeets.
I'm considering putting in a couple of dogwood. They were the playground of sparrows in the old garden, but I wasn't sure which came first - the sparrows or the dogwood!!

 

We have loads of magpies here, and they've been particularly visible in greater numbers this year, but they don't deter the sparrows at all. We have loads of jackdaws and crows too, but they don't bother the sparrows at all
I have feeders inside purpose built cages, so the small birds can all access those, and that leaves the ground feeder for bigger birds, which possibly helps.

 

Holes in your soffit work a treat - but probably not the best solution

 

We had the same thing here when we first arrived nearly two years ago. Got a bird table and bird bath and now we're inundated. It's costing us a fortune in bird foodYesterday we installed a "sparrow loft" so hope they, or other small birds, find that comfy