Where have all the sparrows gone 😕

Bennys_was_a_mob

Bennys_was_a_mob

Well-known member
Sat by a pool in Kos at the moment and noticing all the sparrows all over the place, it is a joy to watch these little birds going about their business 😀

In the 70's when I was growing up there seemed to be thousands upon thousands of sparrows everywhere, along with all the starlings, thrushes and blackbirds, we seem to have lost all these quantities of common bird to Europe ☹️.

I don't blame the climate changes for this (although our weather seems a lot wetter, a lot greyer and generally worse than it was back then) as it is warmer (so we keep getting told).

My blame is on population, or over population 😞

We are a very small island that is so vastly overpopulated it has even become intolerable for the little sparrow.

We have built on far too much green land and continue to do so and it is such a shame 😞

#Bring the sparrow back
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Sat by a pool in Kos at the moment and noticing all the sparrows all over the place, it is a joy to watch these little birds going about their business 😀

In the 70's when I was growing up there seemed to be thousands upon thousands of sparrows everywhere, along with all the starlings, thrushes and blackbirds, we seem to have lost all these quantities of common bird to Europe ☹️.

I don't blame the climate changes for this (although our weather seems a lot wetter, a lot greyer and generally worse than it was back then) as it is warmer (so we keep getting told).

My blame is on population, or over population 😞

We are a very small island that is so vastly overpopulated it has even become intolerable for the little sparrow.

We have built on far too much green land and continue to do so and it is such a shame 😞

#Bring the sparrow back
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That and pesticides, less food etc.
 
We have a bird feeder up but all we seem to get is Jackdaws and Wood Pigeons, but we do have a pair of Great Tits nesting in our birdhouse for the first time, they have hatched as we can hear the chicks 😀👍
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
We have a bird feeder up but all we seem to get is Jackdaws and Wood Pigeons, but we do have a pair of Great Tits nesting in our birdhouse for the first time, they have hatched as we can hear the chicks 😀👍
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We got a bird feeder this year. Best thing ever. But as a poster above said I think there is a proliferation of horrible magpies. They chase the little tits and our resident robin off the feeder (until I shout at them and they do one).
 
We have Goldfinches, Blue Tits, Jays, Red Kites, Heron, Grebes and King Fishers..........can't spot a Sparrow though
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Sat by a pool in Kos at the moment and noticing all the sparrows all over the place, it is a joy to watch these little birds going about their business 😀

In the 70's when I was growing up there seemed to be thousands upon thousands of sparrows everywhere, along with all the starlings, thrushes and blackbirds, we seem to have lost all these quantities of common bird to Europe ☹️.

I don't blame the climate changes for this (although our weather seems a lot wetter, a lot greyer and generally worse than it was back then) as it is warmer (so we keep getting told).

My blame is on population, or over population 😞

We are a very small island that is so vastly overpopulated it has even become intolerable for the little sparrow.

We have built on far too much green land and continue to do so and it is such a shame 😞

#Bring the sparrow back
Click to expand...
On your holidays, sat by a pool, cold beer, I bet you're seeing double. 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛
 
All we seem to see these days are woodpigeons, magpies, ravens and of course, seagulls.
As mentioned above, magpies might be the reason there are a huge reduction in the sparrow numbers.

Similarly, where have all the rabbits gone?
Used to see hundreds of them in the fields.
Hardly see any these days.
 
We put up a feeder with sunflower hearts in and now get around a dozen goldfinches who seem to love them, but nothing else does.
 
If you live anywhere close to a housing build project then the birds often disappear until they’ve finished.

Not sure if it is the constant banging and loud noises or if the evil house building feckers surreptitiously murder all the little birdies for their tea break snacks?
 
Blackpool Are Back! said:
All we seem to see these days are woodpigeons, magpies, ravens and of course, seagulls.
As mentioned above, magpies might be the reason there are a huge reduction in the sparrow numbers.

Similarly, where have all the rabbits gone?
Used to see hundreds of them in the fields.
Hardly see any these days.
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Currently holidaying up in the NW Highlands, there's frickin thousands of them, maybe they've moved north. The dogs don't know which way to look !
 
Blackpool Are Back! said:
All we seem to see these days are woodpigeons, magpies, ravens and of course, seagulls.
As mentioned above, magpies might be the reason there are a huge reduction in the sparrow numbers.

Similarly, where have all the rabbits gone?
Used to see hundreds of them in the fields.
Hardly see any these days.
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Rabbits do seem to be on the decline.

Probably another Min of Ag (sorry DEFRA, sounds more friendly) initiative to spread Mixie that we aren’t told about.

Bit like badgers. Kill. Kill. Kill.
 
Plenty of pigeons here in Madeira, however we have a falcon based at the hotel to ward the pesky blighters away…

A note of interest, it has a really laid back vibe to the island 🙏
 
Mexboroseasider said:
Good to hear. Not many round here. Mind you there are a lot of red kites. Connection?
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Not many red kites where I live but we do have stoats and weasels!
Loafs of birds here we have currently got loads of starlings, next to take over will be jack daws. Curlews are about as well.
 
tangerine_neil said:
Too much building of new housing estates. Apparently the Gov says we need more houses. Er, no. We are only a small island and we are rapidly turning into a giant housing estate symptomatic of underfunded councils clambering for cash.

On a brighter note, I saw a kingfisher today in Garstang.
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Good sighting. Was it by the canal?
 
We have a fine mesh feeders on the trees at the front garden and opposite the hedges and trees in a conservation area. We get loads of sparrows, blue ties, green ties and robins using those feeders.
 
Plenty of sparrows in our garden - also have plenty of hedges so ties in with what Wizzerboy says. Also plenty of finches and we have a house martin nest in the eaves but they haven't returned this year as of last week (currently abroad) - always nice to see them return.
 
bollieboy said:
Plenty of sparrows in our garden - also have plenty of hedges so ties in with what Wizzerboy says. Also plenty of finches and we have a house martin nest in the eaves but they haven't returned this year as of last week (currently abroad) - always nice to see them return.
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When I loved in FY2, I had a pyracanthra hedge in thegarden. About 6 metres long, 1.5 metres tall. Regularly counted 50 house sparrows in the garden
 
Wizaard said:
We have plenty in our garden. Put a seed feeder up and they'll turn up.
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Same here. I've got five sparrow regulars who visit every day along with starlings, pigeons, gulls, magpies, crows, blackbirds, a couple of jackdaws etc.

Patience needed with bird feeder stations/trays etc and regular water supply for drinks and splashing like mad.
 
As an aside, it is a common misconception that we live on a "small island."

The island of Great Britain is the largest in Europe. And the ninth largest island in the world.

The top ten largest islands are:

Greenland
New Guinea
Borneo
Madagascar main island
Baffin Island (Canada)
Sumatra
Honshu (the largest island in Japan)
Victoria Island (Canada)
Great Britain
Ellesmere Island (Canada)
 
When I moved into my house 30 years ago I had a colony of around 40 sparrows living in the eaves. I have refused to put in UPVC barge boards and added bird boxes. We usually have around 80 to 90 by early September that then diminishes over winter. We do feed them but it ain’t popular with all in the area. The noise at this time of year is loud.
 
The change in house building materials from Timber to UPVC for soffits and barge boards etc is one of the main reasons they are not seen as much in urban areas anymore. I see them regularly on my garden, but nothing like the numbers I watched growing up in Southshore in the 70’s and 80’s
 
Southshoresteve said:
The change in house building materials from Timber to UPVC for soffits and barge boards etc is one of the main reasons they are not seen as much in urban areas anymore. I see them regularly on my garden, but nothing like the numbers I watched growing up in Southshore in the 70’s and 80’s
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The estate across the road only has house Martin’s on 2 houses they both have the original wooden soffits. That keeps me entertained as they are opposite us and where I work staring into the yonder
 
Directly from some bird watching sight

"While the sparrowhawk is now one of the most widespread birds of prey in Britain, until a few decades ago it was more or less extinct in many eastern counties. This was partly due to persecution, but also due to pesticide use in agriculture."

Blame the sparrowhawk increase.
 
TSSeasider said:
Directly from some bird watching sight

"While the sparrowhawk is now one of the most widespread birds of prey in Britain, until a few decades ago it was more or less extinct in many eastern counties. This was partly due to persecution, but also due to pesticide use in agriculture."

Blame the sparrowhawk increase.
Click to expand...
Without prey, there's no predator
 
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