Two house sparrows seen in Sheffield!

[soundgeek 10]

I saw two sparrows on the way in to town today, the first I have seen in ages.

 

There used to be so many chattering around the city centre. Where have they all gone?

[AJ sheffield 11]

I read somewhere there are only half the amount there were 25 years ago.

[monkey69 10]

i have a colony of around twenty in my back garden, i have fed them for the last ten years or so. but even those have reduced over the years, i have seen cats take them, even a hawk of some kind has come occasionally and grabbed one from the tree they sit in.

[Kerrangaroo 10]

Blame farming practices, I do.

[Nataliie 10]

I see these all the time, I thought they were quite common. Loads sit in a tree at the bottom of my garden.

[irenewilde 10]

I saw two sparrows on the way in to town today, the first I have seen in ages.

 

There used to be so many chattering around the city centre. Where have they all gone?

 

Are you sure they weren't ospreys?!! Sorry, if you haven't been following dannyscrappy's contributions, that won't mean anything to you. They have fallen in numbers hugely (sparrows, not ospreys), so much so that they are on red status with the RSPB. Luckily, I have quite a big colony living next door to me. I saw one of them taking stuff to refurbish their nest with yesterday though I must admit I haven't seen many juveniles around. Hope they haven't fallen victim to the cold weather.

[SPIKER6 10]

are you sure they are house sparrows,i will ask my mate danny he will put you right lol

[Hayley1 10]

When we moved to Wisewood 5 years or so ago, our birdfeeders were full of sparrows and starlings.

 

Then all the housing association properties were remodernised which included the facias/soffits and guttering, which was where the majority of these birds raised their families.

 

A couple of years ago, we put up a couple of nest boxes as we could see the builders ripping these nests and the babies out of the houses

 

Our next door neighbour had theirs replaced over the last couple of months, putting the final nail in the coffin of our remaining 3 families who had been returning year ater year to nest in their eaves.

 

This year we have been so thankful to see that one family has taken up residence in one of our boxes...it's lovely to see the parents flashing backwards and forwards knowing that they're cleaning up the bugs from my garden to feed their babies and it's a joy to hear their excited tweets when the food arrives

 

 

I know that the homes needed remodernising. They look grand on it too - however, would it have killed them to pop up a couple of bird boxes on a few of the homes as they went?

 

Especially since the last couple of years also saw the housing association arrange the ripping out of 1000's feet of hedges along with 100's of trees. Yes I know they have replaced the trees with more suitable trees, but can you imagine how many birds have been made homeless with all the habitat destruction!!

 

So in a matter of 2 years, we have lost 7 sparrow families and at least 1 starling family in the immediate area. Our feeders have now just 2 sparrows and not a single starling. How sad.

 

If you have the heart, please consider putting up a couple of bird boxes.

Edited May 27, 2012 by Hayley1

[retep 68]

Blame farming practices, I do.

 

Lead-free petrol may be villain in mystery of demise of the world's most familiar bird

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/leadfree-petrol-may-be-villain-in-mystery-of-demise-of-the-worlds-most-familiar-bird-698469.html

[Scozzie 10]

I see these all the time, I thought they were quite common. Loads sit in a tree at the bottom of my garden.

 

I have them too. They are quite unafraid of peoiple, bless their little hearts.

I just with the flying rats (starlings) would vacate!

[Kerrangaroo 10]

Lead-free petrol may be villain in mystery of demise of the world's most familiar bird

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/leadfree-petrol-may-be-villain-in-mystery-of-demise-of-the-worlds-most-familiar-bird-698469.html

 

That would indeed be ironic!

[HeadingNorth 11]

I see these all the time, I thought they were quite common. Loads sit in a tree at the bottom of my garden.

 

They are ubiquitous in some areas - our garden hedge being one of them, where about a hundred make their residence - but the number of areas where you find them, is far fewer than thirty years ago. To a lot of people in a lot of places, seeing a house sparrow at all is a notable event.