House Sparrows

Davidcaron62 · Status: Offline

RE: House Sparrows

Stephen Fuentes · Status: Offline

I have a flock of around 20 visiting my garden in Bredbury on a daily basis. The Stockport area in general seems to still have a healthy population, especially around the Goyt valley area. No Tree sparrows though.

Lawson Dauer · Status: Offline

Well as the one who started this thread, it's about time for a little update. And the answer is still a big fat NIL - although I haven't got the time to garden watch through every daylight hour. Ironically, since I started this thread, I've had more treecreepers (two) & bullfinches (one) than I've had of the ultimate little brown job. What a weird (birding) world we live in.

Mike Price · Status: Offline

I tried to monitor the local House Sparrow population visiting my garden, unfortunately for the study (fortunately for the local passerine population) after seeing the birds feeding my neighbours decided that it was a great idea and are now putting seed out so the large group seems to have split into smaller groups.

bill bentley · Status: Offline

for the last 5 yrs i have about 40-50 house sparrows in my front garden they come in at day light till dusk i feed them on fat balls and peanuts

bill bentley

Graham Smith · Status: Offline

I have up to 30 visit all day every day to my Wythenshawe garden feeding on all the feeders.I just worry that a lot of the houses which are owned by Willow park are now being re roofed with plastic soffits and facier boards a lot of nesting sites will be lost,luckily for my sparrows next door is a privately owned and always has 6 or 7 nesting pairs

Mark Walsh · Status: Offline

We have a small colony of between 10 and 20 that use all the neighbouring gardens and our own, I normally get a few each day. Lots of hedgerow and scrub for them as well.

Lawson Dauer · Status: Offline

In our garden we have three tall (50 feet+) trees, hedges, apple & pear trees, rose bushes. Not all are suitable for sparrows I agree, but the long tailed tits, blue / great / coal tits, the robins, the wrens, the chaffinches, don't have a problem with cover so, as I originally asked, what have I done to upset the sparrows?

Chris brown · Status: Offline

Hi David,

It is interesting as our houses arent new. Built in the 60s. But I think you are right that hedges for cover are probably less than the surrounding areas and I would imagine well maintained houses with plastic soffits mean fewer nesting sites. Dont get me wrong though the estate has mature gardens on it. That said food is constantly available so if they live may be 2 minutes flight away you would think they would visit just for that!! I think it has to be fewer nest sites that mean less Sparrows generally country wide. Answer could be put up a large House sparrow nest box.
What do you think?
Only problem with that is I could end up with a massive wasp colony as 2 years ago they took over one of my blue tit bird boxs!!!!

Neil McCall · Status: Offline

David Lumb wrote:

Hi Chris

I found when delivering leaflets/magazines all over the area that House Sparrows were fairly common on older housing estates where there are plenty of bushes and hedgerows in the gardens. The newer estates are a lot more open without the cover they seem to need.

In Bromley Cross I have seen them spread from Bromley Cross Road throughout the Toppings Estate. My garden ones come from the hedgerows around St John's School on Darwen Road, where they have gradually increased. My garden is also full of hedges giving them places to hide before using the feeders. I have not seen them go straight to the feeders/bird table. They seem to check things out first, probably more so than some of the other birds.

I certainly see plenty around Wythenshawe, even in the scraggly bushes around the Civic Centre.

David Lumb · Status: Offline

Hi Chris

I found when delivering leaflets/magazines all over the area that House Sparrows were fairly common on older housing estates where there are plenty of bushes and hedgerows in the gardens. The newer estates are a lot more open without the cover they seem to need.

In Bromley Cross I have seen them spread from Bromley Cross Road throughout the Toppings Estate. My garden ones come from the hedgerows around St John's School on Darwen Road, where they have gradually increased. My garden is also full of hedges giving them places to hide before using the feeders. I have not seen them go straight to the feeders/bird table. They seem to check things out first, probably more so than some of the other birds.

Chris brown · Status: Offline

I am the same. I have lived in this house in Bolton for 5 years. I have only ever seen sparrows in the garden twice. However I regularly see them less than half a mile away. Strange!!
We get some much more uncommon birds regularly visiting.

Henry Cook · Status: Offline

Yes, i'm in South Manchester and 10 years ago had a small House Sparrow colony (10+) but these have since died out and other local colonies are on the verge of vanishing.
Not sure what caused it, the garden had cover, nest sites, food and water!

Lawson Dauer · Status: Offline

Since I set up my new feeding pole / station on the back lawn, about a month ago, I've had reasonable variety of visitors (to both the feeders & the lawn beneath). However, I don't think I've seen a single house sparrow. I am aware that house sparrows are on the decline in a lot of places, but are any other garden watchers currently registering a big fat 'zero'? To put the absence in context, I live four miles from the centre of Manchester & although we have a reasonably sized garden we are surrounded by housing.

-- Edited by Lawson Dauer on Friday 14th of December 2012 05:40:11 PM