11/5/2023

House sparrows: What do people think about them and where have they all gone?

Written by Beth Brown, GWCT PARTRIDGE Project placement student

They chitter and they chatter, they are a busy little bird we call the house sparrow. House sparrows are a species close to many people’s hearts and homes, typically thought of as a garden bird, but can be found in urban and rural areas.

Being brown and grey, these little birds are often referred to as a ‘little brown job’ – the males have grey crowns, white cheeks and a black bib whilst the females are a plain buffy-brown all over with dingy grey-brown underparts. House sparrows feed and breed near people and are a colony species accrediting them their ‘busy’ characteristic, which explains the clusters of sparrows you’ll see fluttering around your hedgerows.

House sparrowA male house sparrow being colour ringed, under appropriate BTO licensing.

Last Sunday, the GWCT’s Head of Wildlife Recovery Dr Francis Buner held a talk about house sparrows in the church at Newton Valence in Hampshire. The talk provided lots of information about the house sparrow and gathered interest for a house sparrow box project, hoping to implement 50+ house sparrow boxes around the small rural village. The project aims to increase the local house sparrow population and also to allow us to study their population dynamics more closely.

Beth Brown with house sparrow boxesBeth Brown (GWCT placement student) constructing and
painting 50 Perdix house sparrow boxes for the project!

Upon arrival, people were greeted with the iconic house sparrow chatter echoing through the church, the source being our well-hidden speaker. This was followed by a background of the natural history of the house sparrow and the bird’s widespread influence. The influence of the house sparrow spread much further than our gardens, from literature to culture to poetry and to much more.

Most of us are well versed with the strong relationship between nature and literature, art, and music and how without nature the latter would struggle to exist. Francis read an assortment of sparrow poems and even treated us with a (spoken) hymn from the vicar’s post – certainly not a scientist’s natural environment – providing many chuckles from the audience, starting the talk nicely.

Mr and Mrs Spikky SparrowOne of the poems Francis read, Mr and Mrs Spikky Sparrow, by Edward Lear.

Exterminate the Four Pests!Francis then went on mentioning how humans have learnt a lot from sparrows. His example being the Great Chinese Famine in the late 50s, when the Great Leader Mao Tse-Tung decided to get rid of seed-eating sparrows to increase grain for human food.

One way this was achieved was by banging metal pots and pans at the little birds whenever they attempted to land, tiring them out so much that they eventually dropped dead on the ground. Little did the typically naive humans know, these house sparrows eat a large number of insects when feeding their young, apart from grain during the rest of the year.

As you have probably predicted, this mass killing of the house sparrows caused locust populations to balloon, destroying crops and only exacerbating the famine. This is just one of the many tales that we hear and consider ourselves much wiser, but in reality, modern-day society and the humans that inhabit it have put more species at risk than ever before.

Although today in Britain we are not actively knocking the house sparrow from our skies, their drastic decline has been aided by human activity, with the main causes being changes in house construction, which has led to a reduction in nesting sites, together with the intensification of agricultural practices and changes in urban garden designs, both of which reduced insect and seed food availability.

One person in the audience commented on house sparrows being ‘misunderstood,’ partly because they are still one of the most regularly seen garden birds. Therefore, the public often, mistakenly, think our house sparrows are doing quite well. Sadly, this is not the case, with this year’s RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch finding that a startling 22 million house sparrows have disappeared from the UK since 1966.

Urgent action is needed if we are to continue hearing the joyful chitter chatter that we take for granted and associate with our gardens. One member of the audience said, ‘we will only notice them when they are no longer there’, only emphasising the need to protect this red-listed species.

During this talk I was lucky enough to carry out a short survey looking at what house sparrows meant to the local audience and why they wanted to conserve the house sparrow. I gathered 20 surveys and also had interest for further in-depth interviews to dig deeper into people's motives to carry out garden-scale conservation.

The survey also highlighted the success of the meeting with 19 respondents out of 20 stating they would implement a house sparrow box in their garden. With increasing urbanisation as more houses are built for the growing population, garden-scale conservation is becoming more important than ever before.

As a social scientist, studying Human Geography, the ‘people side’ of conservation is my special area of interest. Both social science and natural science are equally important when trying to reverse the decline of biodiversity. With the reasons of the decline being human caused, the focus of our management strategies must also be human centred.

It is important to understand how we engage the public and what motivates people to engage in conservation activities. It is also important to understand that most humans are not altruistic, so to motivate most humans there must be something in it for them. So, we must emphasise the joy that nature and wildlife bring us, we must appreciate our planet and we must help the younger generation to build strong lifelong connections with nature.

I thought one survey summarised the need to build a connection with nature in order to conserve it very nicely; when I asked why they would be willing to put a house box up in their garden, their response was ‘for the sparrow and me.’

The house sparrow is a quintessential member of British gardens and farmland. I was therefore curious to know what the house sparrow means to people who gave up some of their Sunday afternoon to learn more about them. The word cloud below summarises their responses. These responses seem very uplifting and give me much hope for the future of conservation.

Sparrow word cloud

Tell us what the house sparrow means to you by writing down your phrase using this link. Thank you!

Thank you for reading this item. The GWCT conducts leading research, challenges misinformation and promotes effective strategies in the countryside. We are a small charity and every donation can make a big impact. It's quick and all cards, Direct Debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal are accepted:

Comments

House sparrows

at 16:48 on 08/08/2024 by Ann Page

We have a large population of sparrows at our rural home in Wales, with 4 nesting boxes,which are regularly occupied, as well as barns with many nesting sights. I have noticed this year a lack of young which I put down to poor weather conditions which has lead to a lack of insects. The warm wet winter and unseasonably wet and cold summer means insects are out of synk.

House Sparrow success or decline

at 7:50 on 22/05/2024 by Catherine Langston

I’m writing from a close suburb of Washington DC and I realize my data is not necessarily very useful in a discussion of House Sparrow success in their native habitat but I’m intrigued, concerned, and puzzled by this news that House Sparrows, considered invasive here, may not be thriving in their native lands. They are very successful here, for the same reasons at least in part that they do well in the UK- House Sparrows are very adaptable to human activity and disturbance and, here, they outcompete some of our more sensitive native passerine species for crucial nesting habitat and are considered pests by many avid birders and conservationists. I have to wonder what kinds of competitive pressures are on them in the UK vs here? I do appreciate them - their ability to thrive among humans is remarkable- in fact just today I discovered a nest in a very clever spot in my apartment balcony- so hidden that i accidentally destroyed part of the nest and nearly lost some day old hatchlings (I was able to quickly rebuild the nest and put the babies (5!) back unharmed. I tried to restore the same conditions mom had chosen, camouflaged it, and waited to see if she’d return and sure enough she did about 5 minutes after retreated into the apartment. I hope she will remain and carry on with this brood. I hope her mate is around, too. Anyway I’m here to report that the US mid-Atlantic states are heavily populated with House Sparrows and I wonder what are the differences in conditions here vs “back home” that allow for this. We have similar selective pressures- house cats, predatory birds, humans who want to get rid of them for various reasons- but they are doing quite well across the board. Thanks for reading my comment. I do wonder if ILL soon be hand raising a restful of chicks in the near future.

House Sparrow

at 12:31 on 13/03/2024 by Wayne B Whitcher

Here in the north of Scotland near Grantown on Spey , we have had a handful of Sparrows joining the many different finches and tits at the feeders. They have been infrequent visitors so I have put a triple nest box under the eaves at the rear of the property . Within the first week, they have started taking nesting material into the boxes . So far I have only witnessed one cock and hen taking the materials in ,though there are around 8 birds in total . I'm very much hoping to see an expansion of this tiny population . Time will tell .

Sparrows

at 19:27 on 19/07/2023 by Diane

We are lucky enough to have so many sparrows making there selfs at home bathing in the bird bath than sunning them selfs of the garden furniture they line up for food across the fence there must be a couple of hundred they seem very happy and I love watching them they nest in the nearby tree and wait till we finish putting seeds out it's amazing to see so many long may it continue

House sparrows

at 22:27 on 29/06/2023 by Chris Boll

We have a few house sparrows, but many wood pigeons as people don't shoot them anymore. I suspect the pigeons compete for the same food sources as the sparrows such as spilt grain and other seeds. Cities used to have flocks of sparrows and roosting starlings , now feral pigeons are everywhere.

Sparrow and song bird decline

at 13:02 on 04/06/2023 by Dennis Watling

Twenty years ago I had to to berate the house sparrows in my front hedge for making so much noise I couldn’t hear myself think. Today we count ourselves lucky to see 3 or 4 in our suburban garden. Their numbers have declined dramatically over the last few years. The nesting sites in our house haven’t changed over the past 30 odd years nor the feeding regime of sunflower hearts etc. yet we no longer see in our garden many of the songbirds which were once regulars, not even blackbirds which regularly nested in our garden. We do however have once rarely seen but now regular, crows, magpies, sparrowhawk, jackdaws as well as the neighbour’s cats. Pleasingly, goldfinches have become established in past 10years or so and bluetits still nest. I really do fear that Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” is imminent but not for the reasons she predicted.

House Sparrow decline

at 11:18 on 03/06/2023 by Steve Peters

With reference to my experience with co existing with house sparrows, in my line of work, a sudden decline of those birds, or the visible evidence of them, coincided with the almost abrupt change of the feed and bedding for the horses that we had management of. The majority of our horses had straw bedding which, although was mainly stripped of the seeds, had some remaining for the sparrows to eat but another rich source of food for them was the oats, some of which were only partially digested. The little birds happily made a nuisance of themselves by searching through the horses droppings to find a morsel or two. Times then changed with Health and Safety regulations rightly protecting humans from dusty straw and the use of alternative bedding ensued. Straw was replaced by wood shavings and the like. Partially crushed oats as feet, mainly for the horses and a small portion for the sparrows, were also replaced by the new feeds introduced by manufacturers, eager to make more profits but readily adopted by those who thought they were doing the best for the four legged beasts.

house sparrows

at 10:45 on 02/06/2023 by sharon smith

We are lucky to have a huge thriving, noisy population of sparrows on our farm. They live in the eaves of the house and in the barns. We are in mid Wales.

House sparrows

at 17:45 on 01/06/2023 by Tom Cummins

I have just read this article with interest. Once again these so called experts are falsely blaming farming for falling bird numbers. As a farmer I can assure you that this is far from true , the opposite is perhaps more accurate. Each year our field margins are battered by sparrows feasting on the reopening grain , most of which falls to the ground and is wasted. These huge flocks of chattering birds hang on to the ears of grain furiously pecking away with glee. Nothing farmers can do but ,and do , tolerate natures seasonal churn. Then along comes the domestic cats who live in the nearby village. Well fed pets find killing hedgerow birds a wonderful sport and are very good at catching several each day.They don’t eat them , just kill another . Next is the sparrow hawk , now along with other birds of prey , are protected by law but as their numbers grow so does their appetite ….they don’t go and shop for food. Then there is the badger who eats nesting birds while we sleep . Any farmer will tell you that badgers spend the night hours hunting the corn fields for ground nesting birds and hedgerows for sparrows. The human population has doubled in the UK since WW2 but still farmers manage to feed the majority of the ungrateful people who own polluting cars , have everything delivered by trucks but want to spend their earnings on leisure pursuits . Stop pointing the finger of blame to those who feed you.

House sparrows

at 11:22 on 01/06/2023 by Roger Hembrow

We have loads of house sparrows in our garden. Lovely to hear them every morning making a racket in the large bush we have in our garden.

House Sparrows

at 11:14 on 01/06/2023 by Suzanne

Yes we have heard quite a bit about House Sparrows But we can confirm there are thriving Populations here in 1) Our Garden - Nesting/ Feeding No Decline witnessed & 2) Im sure in General around our village at GUITING Power. We do feed Generally through out the year as my Parents who are in their 90’s love to see them in the Garden.

House Sparrows

at 11:10 on 01/06/2023 by Graeme Hatton

No shortage where I live on the Essex-Suffolk border. In fact, we have 3 nesting pairs in our garden. They absolutely love our beech hedge, wonderful noise when they chatter away. We are also inundated with Goldfinches. buy sunflower hearts, especially for them. In fact, we are blessed with so many different species it's a paradise. We are even feeding Red Kites in the field behind our garden. They now land on trees on our land and whistle for more food, especially now they are breeding. I wouldn't swap my house/garden and wildlife for anything now, even my three Labradors and Cocker Spaniel have a wonderful life.

House sparrows

at 7:03 on 01/06/2023 by Graham Clark

I counted 20 in our tree just outside the front window last week. 3 cock sparrows and 17 hen's. In 3 years this has gone down from a total of over 80. Since covid the feral cat population is out of control. We have neighbours on either side of us that have 3 feral cats each. To the point at times with the pat cats we can have upto 15 in and around our garden. I do manage to get them out as much as I can.

House Sparrows

at 18:00 on 31/05/2023 by Thomas Chetta

We have 4 nest boxes in occupation at our house in Paddock Wood Kent.

Sparrows Galore

at 15:25 on 31/05/2023 by Stephen Dowds

This afternoon there are families of house, tree and hedge sparrows (Dunnock) all with newly fledged young drinking from our pond and being shown the art of dust bathing

House Sparrows

at 13:36 on 31/05/2023 by Jennifer Cunningham

Just to report that here on our farm there is definitely no shortage of house sparrows . Around the house and the surrounding bushes and hedges the sound of the sparrows is deafening as there are hundreds of them

House Sparrows

at 9:19 on 31/05/2023 by Andrew Watson

Although I have a stable population of sparrows on my farm (there are now actually more tree sparrows than house sparrows) there are defiantly less house sparrows than there were years ago. This must be partly because of farm assurance standards where birds must be excluded from grain stores therefore depriving them of winter feed.

House sparrow decline

at 9:00 on 31/05/2023 by Lisa butt

Interesting read, I'd be inclined to research insect population - more likely the lack of them is the biggest issue

House sparrows and #TheFeatherSpeech

at 8:30 on 31/05/2023 by Carolien S

Hannah Bourne-Taylor, author of Fledgling, is spearheading a project supported by the RSPB to introduce regulations to enforce the inclusion of cavity bricks in all new builds which provide housing for house sparrows, swifts, house martins and others. A petition debate is scheduled in Parliament for 10 July at 16::30 to consider the matter. #TheFeatherSpeech

House sparrows

at 7:42 on 31/05/2023 by Stephen Turff

House sparrows and starlings are in great decline. I must say I feel it is very little to do with nest sites or food. When I was a boy, if the house sparrow couldn’t find enough room in open Barnes, it would nest in the Hawthorn trees along a hedge row. I think the decline in both House sparrows and starlings is caused Primarily by modern farming practice and pesticides it makes you wonder if we can’t find out how to increase our house sparrow and Starling populations what hope is there for the Gray Partridge and Grouse…!!! There is a massive increase in farm buildings being built through out the country and if as some people say they’re is a lack of nest sites wouldn’t it be a good idea to make bird nesting boxes compulsory as a building regulation for all these new buildings, and maybe the old ones ? A very small cost to the Farmer compared with the cost of a new building. May be a great project for the GWCT to promote in Government. Well done GWCT

House Sparrows

at 7:17 on 31/05/2023 by Raymond Clark

Here in North Cumbria, I feed wheat all year round, mainly to keep the sparrows going, ive put up about 15 nest boxes, many inside the farm buildings, they are very well used, they are a joy to see, more boxes and more feeding needed, I wish curlews were as plentiful here.

House Sparrows

at 1:00 on 31/05/2023 by Darrell

I have sparrows nesting in both nest boxes in our garden, and a blackbird in the bamboo. We have had a lot of red kites, but the number seems to have dropped in the past weeks.

House Sparrows

at 23:28 on 30/05/2023 by Pete And Chris Williams

Never seen or so many House Sparrows as this year! There are so many in our garden and in surrounding gardens and nesting under eaves etc! They have taken over! Surprisingly very few Blue Tits! It has been the first year that they have not nested in our box for the last ten years! Peter from Billericay Essex

sparrows

at 21:28 on 30/05/2023 by j skinner

Pre 1st war 99% of traffic was horse drawn Horses ate oats & some passed through undigested I can remember sparrows descending like vultures on horse droppings to eat this grain so a valuable food supply all year round Now no longer available Sparrows still chirp round my stable yard & are very welcome They now eat the dung beetles-6 varieties-available 7-8 months

Sparrows

at 21:20 on 30/05/2023 by Richard Dunning

We have a greatly increased number of Sparrows compared to what we used to have one of the things that bothers me this year is our Sparrows have moved into and taken over the Swallows nests., thus keeping the Swallows from nesting. I've been here all my life and never known this to happen before. Has anyone else encountered this sort of problem my Farmhouse and Barn are about 120ft long so plenty of room for all, we have an abundance of food as I till 50 acres of wild bird food each year around the house and buildings and have adopted a non spray policy which has really increased our bee population. You can hardly hear yourself think for all the noise from the birds each morning, but I am concerned at the lack of Swallow activity this year as they have always come back year after year.

House sparrows

at 20:40 on 30/05/2023 by John theaker

Can only think this was done in a city as around my house on the north east coast I have lots of them which I actively feed and water in my garden

House Sparrows

at 20:26 on 30/05/2023 by Darrell

I have sparrows nesting in both nest boxes in our garden, and a blackbird in the bamboo. We have had a lot of red kites, but the number seems to have dropped in the past weeks.

Sparrows

at 19:59 on 30/05/2023 by Wilf Dimsdale

Probably the major cause of the massive decline is the closing up of on farm grain stores, making them bird (and rodent) proof. This started in the 1970's and came to its logical conclusion by 1980. An unintended consequence!

House Sparrow Declines

at 19:49 on 30/05/2023 by Paul Brandon

Annually for last 30 years we have many clutches of House sparrows usually by end of summer we will have 60to 80 living in the blackthorn. Over the Autumn and winter the population is devastated by Merlin and Sparrow Hawks .Every year there are less and less pairs left to breed. Simple answer increase in Birds of prey numbers, cannot have both.

Sparrows

at 19:03 on 30/05/2023 by John Mark

I live in a Peak Park village 8 miles west of Sheffield. We have a thriving colony of ‘little brown birds’, both house sparrows and dunnocks, living in the Japonica beneath our kitchen window. The year round backup food source, fat balls and peanuts, is just 10 feet away. The garden is made up of small open spaces bordered by tall hedges. It would be avian paradise but for the Sparrow Hawks. Oh, and we have dogs, therefore no cats. The RSPB showed in a village in Bedfordshire 70% of sparrow mortality was due to domestic cats.

Sparrows

at 18:59 on 30/05/2023 by Stephen David Simpson

Luckily we have had House Sparrows all over the garden for some years. They are able to nest safely in various barns and under the house eaves and avoid the sparrow hawks. Extensive feeding also helps. Good news is that having planted about a mile of new hedgerows in the fields we now have hundreds of yellowhammers. A little bit of work and a commitment to feeding makes a huge difference.

Sparrow

at 18:36 on 30/05/2023 by Alexander Deans

This year I have more sparrows at my bird feeders the most I’ve had for years I live Perthshire

Sparrows - north rural Birmingham area

at 18:36 on 30/05/2023 by Cheryl Meehan

As a child of the 60’s nearly all little birds in my garden were sparrows. Wiping their sticky beaks on the fences. As an adult in the 2020’s I don’t remember the last time I saw a sparrow in my garden. Nearly all small brown birds are Dunnocks & Robins. Along with many types of tits, but not a single sparrow for at least 6yrs,

House Sparrows

at 18:01 on 30/05/2023 by D Tarleton

For the last 20 years we have had house sparrows nesting in outbuildings and more recently taking over nest boxes from blue and great tits . Last year all boxes and regular nesting sites in outbuildings were used for one or two broods . This year , whilst we see them around , they have not used the sites they used last year .

House Sparrows

at 17:55 on 30/05/2023 by Des Cochrane

When I was 11years old in the mid 60s I was on a french exchange to Asmall village near Poitiers The grandparents nearly always lived in the family home my particular resident grandfather threw seeds onto the lawn to put the sparrows to sleep only to present their carcasses for tea I since have worked throughout Europe as a coach driver of some 38 years and there is an abundance of house and tree sparrows in France

House sparrows

at 17:45 on 30/05/2023 by Ron Smart

Here in west Herts I have quite a flock of House Sparrows that feed on my fat balls and mixed bird corn, But we don’t have any Tree sparrows , not seen one for 30 year’s

House Sparrows

at 13:52 on 30/05/2023 by M T Simpson

House Sparrows were once so numerous on this farm they were regarded as a pest, they disappeared 2 years ago. We feed birds throughout the winter in the garden and also across the farm with the C S S wild bird options, the potential nest sites remain but the House Sparrows are absent. The last remaining birds had nests in the roof of our 18th Century house , the roof remains undisturbed but the birds have gone. The Greenfinches have returned in good numbers after being absent for a few years so we remain hopeful that House Sparrows in the village ( 1 mile) might decide to move back soon.

House Sparrows (& starlings)

at 13:08 on 30/05/2023 by Sheila Clark

I'm delighted to report that my clan of house sparrows is thriving - currently around fifty. They're a hilarious unruly rabble that brighten the dullest of days. Last summer they adopted a baby chaffinch and reared it as one of their own. one of this year's youngsters, still wearing a patch of grey baby fluff, is perched outside my office window cheeping for attention. The only thing that really fazes them is the sparrowhawk. The starlings have invaded the ends of the roof soffits, battering away at the wood till they have made a big enough hole to get in. I'm decidedly less fond of them there, as they make a heck of a racket, starting around 3 a.m.!

House sparrows

at 12:16 on 30/05/2023 by Nick

50 years ago in Essex my father used to encourage us children to destroy the sparrow nests from the open pole barns which housed the turkeys. They would feed easily on the turkey food. Now, of course, all such barns are enclosed and made bird and vermin proof. Nowadays, I only see one gathering (or is it a host, quarrel or ubiquity?!) of sparrows locally here in south Suffolk numbering about 20-40 and am always fascinated by them as, I suppose, they are reminiscent of days gone by. They live near to a house which has plenty of bird feeders!

House sparrows

at 11:56 on 30/05/2023 by David Tomlinson

It wasn't house sparrows that were killed in China, but the closely related tree sparrow that takes the place of the house sparrow in rural China.

Sparrows

at 11:34 on 30/05/2023 by Mr Ian Wilkie

Does the SPARROW HAWK take no blame in the downfall of all garden birds including House Sparrow Hedge Sparrow Tree Sparrow

House sparrows

at 11:14 on 30/05/2023 by Bridget Osborne

30 years ago there was only one lonely male house sparrow with us over winter. I started feeding throughout the year and put up a sparrow terrace. I put out soaked mealworms for them when they have chicks. We now have a flock of around 30, nesting not only in the box, but under the eaves and in holes in the old stone barn walls, as well as perched on the rafters in the new barn. I love their chatter.

House sparrows

at 11:11 on 16/05/2023 by jeremy payne

This is the first year they haven't used the bird box stuck to the house, or the one on the tree at the back of the garden. Still plenty about, I am just not offering sufficiently high quality accommodation apparently!

House Sparrows

at 20:17 on 15/05/2023 by Keith Robinson

When I bought my house 15 years ago the attic was full of sparrow nests. We needed to seal the roof, so rather than leave the sparrows no where to nest we built and fitted four double sparrow boxes to the north side of the house. The house sparrows nested in the boxes the first year and every year since then. On average they have 2 or 3 clutches every year. Last year I counted 75 sparrows on our lawn one autumn morning.

house sparrows

at 14:01 on 12/05/2023 by Curtis Lou Gesch

This written from rural B.C. House sparrows are an introduced species here and wreak havoc on tree swallows (somewhat like your house martins) and bluebirds (three species). We would gladly send you all our house sparrows if you would provide a way for us to catch them.

House Sparrows

at 12:23 on 12/05/2023 by Tim Palmer

It's a familiar tale. In my 1960's country childhood, there were hundreds in flocks and mobs to the point where my father used to trap them to thin them out. The same on my Dorset farm where by the 2000's, they had all but disappeared. Nesting sites still abounded in all the old farm buildings as did tail corn in a heap outside the grain drier. That leaves insect food for nestlings as the likely culprit, just like grey partridges and others. In recent years, with Stewardship options and beetle banks, the numbers of both have recovered somewhat.

House Sparrows decline

at 11:02 on 12/05/2023 by David Boomer

50 years back I had a great number of House Sparrows in and around my house in the suburbs of Lisburn in Co Antrim, now I might see a couple from time to time. I have not changed the way I have gardened, however in these last years Lisburn has got closer . I worked in Belfast and we had many ( as many as up to 100} in our yard. Now no more. Goods used to be delivered by horse drawn carts and when they were unloading the carters put a chaff nose bag on them and the sparrows crowded round the. Containers don’t eat corn. I do have tree Sparrows. David Boomer

House Sparrows

at 9:29 on 12/05/2023 by Nick vZ

It is not the lack of nesting sites that has caused their decline but as as been alluded to in the article the lack of available food. Sparrows compete with every other species for the same available food. In the urban areas it may also be because of the shortage of their main roosts which have been covered by anti-landing spikes. In the rural areas the bird proofing of the grain stores has been a disaster for them.

House Sparrows and Starlings

at 9:01 on 12/05/2023 by Graham Hudson

House sparrows and starlings nest under my eaves. An oak frame extension built 11years ago. The noise at dawn wakes us up as it’s a loft bedroom and they have shredded the insulation but we enjoy both species being around!! Maybe more new builds should have porous eaves, especially those without loft bedrooms. Well done GWCT for all you do.

House Sparrows and Starlings

at 9:01 on 12/05/2023 by Graham Hudson

House sparrows and starlings nest under my eaves. An oak frame extension built 11years ago. The noise at dawn wakes us up as it’s a loft bedroom and they have shredded the insulation but we enjoy both species being around!! Maybe more new builds should have porous eaves, especially those without loft bedrooms. Well done GWCT for all you do.

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