Sparrows

[Ember]

Are sparrows making a comeback? I counted 23 in my garden this morning, I live on the outskirts of a large city.

[katejess]

Had they gone away?! I live in Herts and there doesn't seem to have been any decrease or increase in the amount of sparrows recently. We seem to be overrun with starlings....they live in the eaves of my building and they make one hell of a racket during nesting season.

[Ember]

An article I read recently said their numbers were very decreased, particularly in London.

[comloulou]

Sparrows are great, they seem to be doing ok on planet thanet tho theyve got some serious competition from the blasted seagulls/albatroses.

[Cetti]

That's great news for everyone who still has them, but they have declined dramatically, and not just in this country, but worldwide. There's seems to be a lot of different factors, an increase in use of garden pesticides, more pvc guttering, so therefore removing nesting sites - and not least garden makeovers, cutting down trees and bushes - less grass more concrete. They're such joyful little birds it would be dreadful to lose them.

[katejess]

I had no idea that sparrow's numbers had decreased so much, but it doesn't surprise me that the reason for their reduction in numbers has to do with human invention: pesticides, pvc guttering etc. Cetti, you are absolutely right, they are joyful birds and it certainly would be dreadful to lose them. From now on, I will keep a closer eye on the quantity of sparrows in my area.......I just wish the starlings would move out of my eaves!

[jorton]

They do like breadcrumbs though.

[Hellion]

I see less and less real sparrows but there are a lot of dunnocks that look very similar

[Hippy]

I see a few Sparrowhawks in the city, I'm sure I did not even see one in the 50s & 60s. These birds feed on sparrows. How many little sparrows make a daily meal for one sparrowhawk? Two.. three.. four? And this happens every day of every year; that's a lot of sparrows just for one breeding pair of sparrowhawks (over 2000 sparrows per year at three per day).

I seem to recall a RSPB effort to re-establish the almost extinct sparrowhawk during the 1950s; maybe this has had something to do with the sparrow's decline.

My observations concern city birds, and I think the sparrowhawks were introduced into the wilder parts of the countryside. However, they are definitely making forays into the city if not actually breeding here.

[robber1]

Sparrow hawks dont only eat sparrows, they eat anything they can catch.We have a Sparrowhawk which often attacks and eats Doves and Pidgeons.The Sparrows are not as common as they were and I hope they do make a recovery.