House Sparrows No More ?

thelurch

5 years ago there were dozens of house sparrows in and around my house, nesting, under the local gutters and you would always hear them.
They were about all year. I have not seen one in about a year ? Whats happened to them ? I am in Dublin 3

thelurch

bump

Judgement Day

I have noticed this decline myself. I grew up in Bray and House Sparrows were everywhere. There seems to be a wide variety of reasons for their decline see the link ... www.sparrowsneedhedges.com/why_house_sparrow_in_decline.html

I miss their cheery cheep, cheep but only recently noticed a few in a quiet older part of my local town (Enniscorthy). I think another reason for their decline is lack of suitable nest sites on modern housing stock where upvc soffits and fascias seal up a house tightly and eliminate their favourite nesting spots.

Anybody else notice these cheeky beggars in their locality?

PS..Any further sightings of Swallows?

BryanL

I know this is being investigated by a lot of different groups. But i think some of the reason must be the change in the types of trailers drawing grain.
Before it was mostly timber sided lorries which spilt grain on the road side.
It used to be very common to se rats and sparrows feeding on the grain on the roadsides.
Now with large sealed aluminum trailers,sparrows have lost this major food supply which must have help them put on weight before the winter?
Bryan

magicbastarder

we're seeing loads of sparrows around the bird feeders - about two dozen at one point today.

however, i read a few years ago that the number of cats in ireland had more than doubled - mainly driven by the new housing boom, with people getting pets to go along with their new houses. anyway, point being - are you seeing more cats around the house?
sparrows would be less likely to nest if there were more cats about, i imagine.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

BryanL wrote: »

I know this is being investigated by a lot of different groups. But i think some of the reason must be the change in the types of trailers drawing grain.
Before it was mostly timber sided lorries which spilt grain on the road side.

Firstly, this is not a plausible reason for a decline in House Sparrow numbers as the spillage of grain along roads is only a temporal thing that last for a matter of days each year.
Generally the change in agricultural practice has been blamed for the decline in many farmland birds but it it not the full reason as House Sparrow numbers in London has dropped dramatically in the past 10 years and there had been little change in the agricultural practices (or the type of trailer used) there in many years. It is thought that changes to house building is a major factor with less access for the birds to nest sites under rioof tiles. There is also evidence that later cluches of House Sparrows are not suceeding to fledging as before and this is thought to be due to a shortage of insects later in the Summer - this is due to our worsening Summers and the use of insecticide on farms and in gardens.
Predation by cats has of course been blamed as well.
Having said all that the numbers of House Sparrows in my rural garden have rising fron Nil in 1996 to a flock of 38 today with 11 nesting pairs.

Run_to_da_hills

magicbastarder wrote: »

we're seeing loads of sparrows around the bird feeders - about two dozen at one point today.

however, i read a few years ago that the number of cats in ireland had more than doubled - mainly driven by the new housing boom, with people getting pets to go along with their new houses. anyway, point being - are you seeing more cats around the house?
sparrows would be less likely to nest if there were more cats about, i imagine.

There is also a corresponding increase in ferrile cats around the suberbs, these cats have difficulty getting food scraps from private houses and restaurants because of newer trends in waste disposal. They have no choice but to go about killing off birds.

There is an answer to this, IE Round up all the ferrile cats and fit collered bells and leave food out for them. I won't mention about modifying your bin.

Funkyzeit

Interesting this I havn't had 1 sparrow at my bird feeder this year (plenty of tits, finches, starlings) and the usual hanger ons (Rook,Jacker,Magpie) but not a single sparrow

stylie

They have been missing in my area, N Cork but they seem to have come back this season..small numbers..my memories of sparrows are associated with great weather maybe a factor ?

boneless

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

There is also a corresponding increase in ferrile cats around the suberbs, these cats have difficulty getting food scraps from private houses and restaurants because of newer trends in waste disposal. They have no choice but to go about killing off birds.

There is an answer to this, IE Round up all the ferrile cats and fit collered bells and leave food out for them. I won't mention about modifying your bin.

Any more mention of opening bins or modifications to bins and you face a ban. Littering in any form is illegal and unhelpful to the environment. Take this as a final warning.

jmkennedyie

There was also a concern that chemicals in unleaded petrol may have contributed to sparrow demise, especially in UK. I'm not sure where thinking is on that now...

http://www.google.ie/search?q=unleaded+petrol+sparrow

cotton

We've 2 pairs of nesting sparrows at our place that I know of. One set in the roof (they're there every year) and another further down the garden.
Don't know what's going on but we seem to have tons of all tits this year too.

Funkyzeit

Well low and behold I've had a load of sparrows over the last few weeks - so much so I came into my front room and there was a sparrow perched on the curtain rail - refused (or couldn't see the open windows) and didn't move all day...

Finally decided to try cover it with a sheet so I could aid him - it was like a scene out of Some mothers Do Ave em..

Anyway all is now well without any damage...to the sparrow...:o

Day Lewin

This year, and every recent year that I can reasonably remember, masses of sparrows on all my 4 birdfeeders, pecking at seeds on ground, chasing each other around the place etc. There are plenty of neighbouring cats too.
However in the Kilmacud/Stillorgan area of Co Dublin where I live, the gardens are a fair size by modern standards and many have thick overgrown hedges.
This might be the factor that is protecting sparrows from predation.

littlebug

Loads of sparrows here too in the rural west. I've seen less of the neighbours cats snooping around since I caught them with a jugful of water. Oh the pleasure

Judgement Day

I past a quiet part of town today here in Enniscorthy (Oops... Diego Garcia) and heard the once familiar cheeping sound of House Sparrows but there is no doubt that their decline is quite dramatic.

sc9736

we have a good few sparrows out our back along with robins and some other types, I live in small town in Kildare though and I always through out any scraps every morning for them so they are kinda used to getting food from us.

I do remember seeing loads of them in my parents house growing up but none are in their area anymore

Jim Martin

For the first time in almost 8 years since I moved here in W.Clare, yesterday, saw 2 in my garden on the lower slopes of Slieve Callan!

ericl

I hadn't seen any in a long time so went to aldi's an bought one of these

http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/2867_8230.htm,

and then seen two of these.

sorella

We have always lived in wild areas and have never seen sparrows.

Just now - and we are fairly new here - the birds are coming in to our feeders in greater number and variety.

Blue tits, chaffinch, robins, wren, and a thrush, and wagtails. Some larger ones- slightly larger than thrushes - not yet identified. Paler feathers.

Esel

sorella wrote: »

...- slightly larger than thrushes - not yet identified. Paler feathers.

Fieldfares?

sorella

Maybe; I never see them for long enough and they fly away through the trees then. Last time I saw fieldfares there were several, on flat land. These are one or two only.

May be small pigeons.

There is wide bird life up here and this is our first spring so it is a revelation every day now. Saw something dark and long-tailed in a tree today too.

Patience will avail:)

esel wrote: »

Fieldfares?

myjugsarehuge

I live in north Co. Cork and I've got more house sparrows this year than last year. I'm doing the 3 month garden bird survery in the Wings magazine for Birdwatch Ireland and I've have had 6 house sparrows at any given time. Last year I only had 2.

I got the dimensions for a house sparrow nest box off the CJ Wildbirdfood website and my b/f is going to make one this weekend. Its a "terrace" box with 3 openings and dividers inside as they like to nest communally. I really hope they use it although they are driving me mad with their constant cheeping already lol.