Sparrows

savagethegoat

I don't get Sparrows in my garden, why is that ? these too appeared for a few minutes before Christmas, never to be seen again.



I grew up with the cheerful sound of Sparrows nesting in the gutters and I miss them


PS I'm pretty sure the right hand one is a Sparrow at least

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

The lack of nesting sites has a great impact on House Sparrow numbers. Modern roof construction often prevents them utilising areas under roof tiles. They like plenty of hedge and shrub cover nearby as well.

My own House Sparrows appeared 15 years ago and last year there were at least 11 nests under the roof tiles.

Ground scattered seed is a good inducement for them in to the garden.

savagethegoat

Lucky you! The Goldfinches do the seed scattering for me. The Chaffinches love it.

condra

When I was a kid there were literally hundreds of sparrows in my neighbourhood. If you threw out a bit of bread there would be dozens within a few minutes. These days, they are pretty rare around here.

Sad

Rosahane

Before Christmas, when the weather was colder and dryer ( I think) I was getting a dozen or more sparrows all day long at the feeders. Now I get a few sporadically during the day.

Also, I'm in an urban environment. Is it possible that they have deserted me in the search for nesting sites or has the weather something to do with it.

I have a good selection of feeders one each of peanuts, sunflower - both black and kernels, fastballs, niger and two mixed seed and two hanging tables.
I'm getting lots of finches, tits, a few redpoll and couple of blackcaps and occasional dunnock, robins, blackbirds, doves, pigeon and masses of starlings.

Rosahane

Before Christmas, when the weather was colder and dryer ( I think) I was getting a dozen or more sparrows all day long at the feeders. Now I get a few sporadically during the day.

Also, I'm in an urban environment. Is it possible that they have deserted me in the search for nesting sites or has the weather something to do with it?

I have a good selection of feeders one each of peanuts, sunflower - both black and kernels, fastballs, niger and two mixed seed and two hanging tables.
I'm getting lots of finches, tits, a few redpoll and couple of blackcaps and occasional dunnock, robins, blackbirds, doves, pigeon and masses of starlings.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Rosahane wrote: »

Before Christmas, when the weather was colder and dryer ( I think) I was getting a dozen or more sparrows all day long at the feeders. Now I get a few sporadically during the day.

Also, I'm in an urban environment. Is it possible that they have deserted me in the search for nesting sites or has the weather something to do with it?

I have a good selection of feeders one each of peanuts, sunflower - both black and kernels, fastballs, niger and two mixed seed and two hanging tables.
I'm getting lots of finches, tits, a few redpoll and couple of blackcaps and occasional dunnock, robins, blackbirds, doves, pigeon and masses of starlings.

They are not nesting yet. They move about a bit in winter. I find mixed seed on the lawn , rather than on the bird table or in feeders, works best for them.

dodderangler

Funny enough I had only said to the lads in work when was the last time they seen a sparrow Nd everyone kind of paused and said Jesus can't remember . They were the most plentiful bird around when I was a kid . Havint seen one in years

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

House Sparrow numbers dropped from the 1980s until 2006, when they stabilised. The population has begun to grow since 2009.

The cause of the decline is many fold and complex. Habitat, food sources, etc are obvious but NO2 levels in urban areas also seem to have a considerable impact.
The decline was approx 60% in Urban areas and 47% in Rural.

By providing shelter, nesting opportunities, and food we can all help build on the recent upturn in numbers.

My own flock began in the 90s with 2 birds and the garden Max count last year was 48 birds. We may never get back to the sight of hundreds in our city parks again but it is already possible to now see decent sized flocks in rural areas.

johnington

I've read about the decline of house sparrows in recent years but I didn't believe it due to the numbers I've been counting in my garden. 42 was the max I counted this winter although I'm sure there are more because they tend to fly off on mass into the nearest hedges before I get a chance to count them all. I was starting to get annoyed at them because they tend to crowd the other species out of the feeders. Guess I'll count myself as lucky after reading this thread.