[CPBell]

Anyone looking for ideas for Chrissy presents could do worse than consider ‘Sparrow’ by Kim Todd, published earlier this year, not least because it gives an even handed account of opinion on the cause of sparrow decline. She recites the gospel according to Vincent, as approved by the Holy Church of the RSPB, but also gives a quite good account of the work I did on the effects of Sparrowhawk predation – she’s American so doesn’t live under the RSPB’s fatwa. Her summing up is especially perceptive – Vincent conjures a vision of a mysterious unknown force poisoning our cities, whereas Bell’s competing story is a much more optimistic one of nature healing itself. Take a look here for an interview with the author – the bit on sparrow decline starts at about 25 minutes.

http://www.cpbell.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/CultoftheAmateur

[speckled wood]

I have had a read of the the review and the answer to the decline of the house sparrow is there .. they closed the coal mines.

[Papa 10]

Originally Posted by speckled wood

I have had a read of the the review and the answer to the decline of the house sparrow is there .. they closed the coal mines.

Yes, in the early 1960's the colony that developed in the colliery pit bottom I worked at had no Sparrowhawks (or other predator) to contend with.

[Amarillo]

is that really the best you could come up with to try and revive this thread?

[MJB]

Originally Posted by Amarillo

is that really the best you could come up with to try and revive this thread?

Perhaps because we're in the runup to the Nativity season, with all these mangers, there's an abundance of straws to be clutched...?
MJB

[The Raptor]

Simply...whats it to do with us humans anyway, can't we just leave nature alone & let it take its own course...it is not for us to decide!!

[fugl]

Originally Posted by The Raptor

Simply...whats it to do with us humans anyway, can't we just leave nature alone & let it take its own course...it is not for us to decide!!

Of course it's for us to decide. Who else is there?

[John Cantelo]

Originally Posted by The Raptor

Simply...whats it to do with us humans anyway, can't we just leave nature alone & let it take its own course...it is not for us to decide!!

I realise that this is pushing this thread somewhat off course but ....

I'm sorry Rod, but I find yours an extraordinarily naive comment. Most, if not all, of the problems that birds face today are a result of human activity (direct and indirect) so we're hardly 'leaving nature alone' as it is. In that sense we're already 'deciding' but in a blind, unaware and undirected manner largely to the detriment of birds and other wildlife. Intervening to redress the problems we ourselves cause is surely not only our moral obligation, but a wise precaution for our own future survival.

[John Cantelo]

Originally Posted by The Raptor

Simply...whats it to do with us humans anyway, can't we just leave nature alone & let it take its own course...it is not for us to decide!!

I realise that this is pushing this thread somewhat off course but ....

I'm sorry Rod, but I find yours an extraordinarily naive comment. Most, if not all, of the problems that birds face today are a result of human activity (direct and indirect) so we're hardly 'leaving nature alone' as it is. In that sense we're already 'deciding' but in a blind, unaware and undirected manner largely to the detriment of birds and other wildlife. Intervening to redress the problems we ourselves cause is surely not only our moral obligation, but a wise precaution for our own future survival.

[Amarillo]

Originally Posted by The Raptor

Simply...whats it to do with us humans anyway, can't we just leave nature alone & let it take its own course...it is not for us to decide!!

whats it to do with us humans? everything. we're the ones destroying the habitats of so many species

The decline of sparrows almost certainly has something to do with us and if we find out what the cause is we might be able to do something about it

[ZanderII]

Has this been discussed:

Urbanization, nestling growth and reproductive success in a moderately declining house sparrow population

Gábor Seress, Veronika Bókony, Ivett Pipoly, Tibor Szép, Károly Nagy, András Liker

Journal of Avian Biology, Volume 43, Issue 5, pages 403–414, September 2012

Ecological conditions are likely to change with increasing urbanization, influencing the demography and size of animal populations. Although one of the most tightly linked species to humans, the house sparrow has been suffering a significant decline worldwide, especially in European cities. Several factors have been proposed to explain this conspicuous loss of urban sparrows, but studies evaluating these factors are usually restricted to Britain where the decline was very drastic, and it is unclear whether similar or different processes are affecting urban populations of the species elsewhere. In this study we investigated the reproductive success of urban and rural sparrows in a central European country, Hungary where our census data indicate a moderate decline during the last decade. We found that rural pairs produced more and larger fledglings than suburban pairs, and the difference remained consistent in two years with very contrasting meteorological conditions during breeding. This difference is likely explained by habitat differences in nestling diet, because we found that 1) rural parents provided large prey items more often than suburban parents, 2) birds from differently urbanized habitats produced fledglings of similar number and size in captivity under identical rearing conditions with ample food for nestlings, and 3) in a cross-fostering experiment, nestlings tended to grow larger in rural than in suburban nests irrespective of their hatching environment. These results agree with those found in a recent British study, indicating that poor nestling development and survival due to inadequate diet may be widespread phenomena in urbanized habitats.

[ZanderII]

also this from the same team on predation.

[Jane Turner]

No neither have been discussed on here.

[ZanderII]

Originally Posted by Jane Turner

No neither have been discussed on here.

Weird then that they were published some time ago and CPB wasn't interested... The first backs up food limitation as causing chick mortality and driving declines whilst the latter provides evidence for asymetric responses to predation.

[Jane Turner]

I thought the latter was particularly interesting/surprising.

[CPBell]

Anyone who's read enough of this thread will be aware that I first became interested in sparrows while working at London Zoo, which had the last large sparrow colony in central London - about 150 of them. It's recently become apparent that the population has grown considerably over the last 5 years, and has recolonized parts of the zoo from which they've been absent for decades. Why could this be? Decking going out of fashion? Off-road parking spaces infra-dig in NW1? Maybe because the RSPB have planted some wildflower patches on Primrose Hill? Or could it be because Sparrowhawks have stopped breeding in Regent's Park?

Join me here on my day out at the zoo!

http://www.cpbell.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/CultoftheAmateur

[Jane Turner]

Funny that Sparrowhawk is regularly recorded throughout the summer in Regents Park in all years apart from 2010

[David Callahan]

Sparrowhawk recorded all year in 2010 too, according to locals: http://www.regentsparkbirds.co.uk/ (see the 'Bird Reports' section, though that Honey Buzzard photo just above the species account looks a bit suspect?!) ...

D

[Amarillo]

Originally Posted by CPBell

Why could this be? Decking going out of fashion? Off-road parking spaces infra-dig in NW1? Maybe because the RSPB have planted some wildflower patches on Primrose Hill? Or could it be because Sparrowhawks have stopped breeding in Regent's Park?

Sounds like its definately the sparrowhawks, I wouldn't even bother with the other possibilities

[hinnark]

The House Sparrow decline (same phenomenon over here as well) is caused by sterility of their environment. The sparrows need insects for the youngs, places to build their nests, a place/shrubs to hide with their family and clan and open sand areas for bathing. Once one of these four basic needs falls under a certain threshold of availabilty, the decline is going on.

Steve

[Jane Turner]

Originally Posted by David Callahan

Sparrowhawk recorded all year in 2010 too, according to locals: http://www.regentsparkbirds.co.uk/ (see the 'Bird Reports' section, though that Honey Buzzard photo just above the species account looks a bit suspect?!) ...

D

There wasn't proven breeding n 2010 though.