CRITTERS SUNDAY- THE DECLINE IN NUMBERS OF THE HOUSE SPARROW

SAVE THE HUMBLE HOUSE SPARROW

This is a house sparrow chewing a fly for his lunch. It was odd for me to snap a garden bird along the beach, but perhaps not so now with this particular bird anymore. The poor house sparrow used to be the commonest garden bird in the UK. Every garden had dozens of these friendly little birds, not so now. So why has the bird declined in numbers?

Modern living. I could elaborate and do a weeks worth of blogs in one post, but to put it in a nutshell that's it. What though do I mean by modern living?

Modern housing estates. It's all very well building nice shiny little boxes to live in, but please plant some hedgerows with them. These cute little birds thrive amongst the hedgerows. No hedgerows, no sparrows.

Off road car parking. Again a great idea, but birds don't live on a pile of concrete. Would it hurt to surround car parking areas with a little greenery for nesting birds.

Less gardens. Again birds don't live on gravel drives.

Too tidy gardens. Mow your lawn by all means, trim your hedges too, but don't obliterate the foliage. Keep it neat, but keep it.

Birds don't live in apartment blocks. Renovate existing building, not throw up new faceless ones. Birds love eaves. Where have all the eaves gone?

Save parks and and Nature Reserves! For all of us really. We really don't need another empty office block or supermarket buying land they will flatten and never use, just to stop a competitor buying it. Sparrows need green areas, hedgerows, trees and grass. In fact don't we need those too. Sure you dog that needs walking or your children kicking a ball would agree!

My garden has the house sparrow as a visitor. We too live in a modern house, but we have a garden, full of nuts, seeds and water. A tree to hide from sparrowhawks. Space under the guttering to nest.

Too find a humble house sparrow, scavenging for food along the beach, competing with the more adept shorebirds just wasn't right. We share this planet, we don't own it.

For more camera critters see MISTY DAWN Camera critters.