Gardening for HOUSE SPARROWS - how to help LINK (1 Viewer)

deborah4 · Feb 8, 2006

Most of you are probably aware by now of the campaign to save the declining population of House Sparrows particularly in the SE England's urban areas. Thought it would be helpful to post a quick link to the Defra Leaflet which gives advice on what changes we can make to our gardens to give House Sparrows a better chance of survival:

Included in the leaflet is advice about nest boxes etc

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/ewd/sparrows.pdf

robski · Feb 8, 2006

deborah4 said:
Most of you are probably aware by now of the campaign to save the declining population of House Sparrows particularly in the SE England's urban areas. Thought it would be helpful to post a quick link to the Defra Leaflet which gives advice on what changes we can make to our gardens to give House Sparrows a better chance of survival:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/ewd.sparrows.pdf

Included in the leaflet is advice about nest boxes etc

Link comes up with not found

:cat:

Chris Oates · Feb 8, 2006

robski said:
Link comes up with not found

:cat:

Found it

here's the info

deborah4 · Feb 8, 2006

Sorry - Ive edited the link, it should work now!

hayfieldgolfer · Feb 9, 2006

I regulary have a dozen or so feed in my garden every day, whilst happy to feed them I am always on the lookout for other species. Thanks to your article I will take even greater pleasure in watching them. I have 6 nest boxes I have made 3 of which are for sparrows, will put them out at the weekend, still have some wood left and will make a couple more.

Richard Bryce · Feb 27, 2006

Over the past few years I have allowed ivy to bush out on my house wall. It is home to a caucophony of sparrows.

Mary Evelyn · Feb 27, 2006

We are lucky here too, having between 40 and 50 sparrows visiting per day.

deborah4 · Mar 8, 2006

Today saw first HS in garden this year - one solitary, female, first winter

Atricapilla · Mar 8, 2006

deborah4 said:
Today saw first HS in garden this year - one solitary, female, first winter

This is our favourite(odd) HS that visits our garden-my wife calls it Rusty

scampo · Mar 8, 2006

deborah4 said:
Most of you are probably aware by now of the campaign to save the declining population of House Sparrows particularly in the SE England's urban areas. Thought it would be helpful to post a quick link to the Defra Leaflet which gives advice on what changes we can make to our gardens to give House Sparrows a better chance of survival:

Included in the leaflet is advice about nest boxes etc

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/ewd/sparrows.pdf

The guide makes reference to growing more shrubs in our gardens...

My own "research" points to a loss of one shrub in particular - privet. When I grew up privet hedges were everywhere and they were full of... insects and spiders as well as... sparrows. Sparrows seemed to love those privet hedges and, in summer, popping out to a nearby dry bit of soil for a dust bath.

Nowadays, privet hedges have all but disappeared just about as much as well... sparrows. And when I find a large privet hedge - what bird do I find flitting gaily in and out of it... the sparrow.

But it's not just privet those little birds seem to like. My father-in-law's garden has an old beech hedge. And he still has lots of sparrows.

Clearly, certain kinds of hedge and house sparrows go together well. I imagine hawthorn would be just as good, and again - there are few of those around in town gardens.

Let's get planting hedges!

deborah4 · Mar 9, 2006

Agreed Scampo now I come to think of it - and they use to be filled with hawkmoth caterpillars as well if I remember rightly. Well no room left in garden for privet unfortunately but I am letting the ivy run havoc (almost!) so hopefully that will work if Richard's garden above is anything to go by

(nice pic of Rusty there Bob! Ive stopped naming my lone visitors its too easy to become attached and then they disappear :-C )

A CHAPLIN · Mar 9, 2006

Hi Scampo,

Tell the world please "sparrows need privet hidges". I have been saying it for years but everybody removes them here to make room to park cars.

As people may remember last year I have a permanent running battle with my neighbour about our "shared" privet hedge "plenty of birds around" is his answer to everything.

Deborah I am pleased to say I again have a little flock of 6 in my hedges and to me they are worth more than gold I love their chirping sounds so happy. I have now had a slight alteration to the front corner of roof as they always nested there till 3 years ago when BT repaired a cable and blocked the corner. I have now "re-opened" it don't know how else to put and am keeping my fingers crossed.

By accident I also found Sparrows like eating loose millet (I try everything for my birds) and now have a big bag in the garage.

Good Luck Deborah one has found you its friends will follow.

Ann :bounce: :-O :t:

scampo · Mar 9, 2006

A CHAPLIN said:
Hi Scampo,

Tell the world please "sparrows need privet hidges". I have been saying it for years but everybody removes them here to make room to park cars.

As people may remember last year I have a permanent running battle with my neighbour about our "shared" privet hedge "plenty of birds around" is his answer to everything.

Deborah I am pleased to say I again have a little flock of 6 in my hedges and to me they are worth more than gold I love their chirping sounds so happy. I have now had a slight alteration to the front corner of roof as they always nested there till 3 years ago when BT repaired a cable and blocked the corner. I have now "re-opened" it don't know how else to put and am keeping my fingers crossed.

By accident I also found Sparrows like eating loose millet (I try everything for my birds) and now have a big bag in the garage.

Good Luck Deborah one has found you its friends will follow.

Ann :bounce: :-O :t:

I've a strip of bare fencing a neighbour has put at the bottom of my garden - I was going to plant raspberry but, you know, I think privet is in order. Not ideal for there but if it will attract the sparrows...

deborah4 · Mar 9, 2006

Hi Ann

Both you and Scampo have convinced me - I will try and source some privet this Spring and somehow find some room in the back garden. Presumably they take a while to grow large enough to be of benefit so by then hopefully we will have bought the Freehold to the property and I think I could convince the neighbours to re-plant it round the front of the house if we pull up some paving stones!! Lor anythings gotta be better than concrete :bounce:

scampo · Mar 9, 2006

deborah4 said:
Hi Ann

... Lor anythings gotta be better than concrete :bounce:

I do wish others shared your view - a neighbour recently had the whole of his large front garden covered in black tarmac. It looks more like a car park than a garden. I don't know.

willowa · Mar 11, 2006

If you want native hedging at reasonable prices try the link.
They do mail order. They specalise in hedging. They do barerooted plants but it will be out of season soon. This is the cheapest way to buy privet.

http://www.buckingham-nurseries.co.uk/ :clap:

scampo · Mar 11, 2006

willowa said:
If you want native hedging at reasonable prices try the link.
They do mail order. They specalise in hedging. They do barerooted plants but it will be out of season soon. This is the cheapest way to buy privet.

http://www.buckingham-nurseries.co.uk/

Thanks for the link. Privet cuttings (or "slippings" as my mum used to call them...) root extraordinarily easily, although from a cutting it would take an extra year or two compared with, say, a containerised bush.

In the days when my dad planted his privet hedges - the early 1950s - I doubt there were even garden centres and now we can buy privet online.

I was at my brother's this afternoon. He plants his garden exclusively for birds and yet the house sparrow population in his garden has halved from, he says, up to sixty birds twenty years ago, to thirty now. If I look around from his garden at others, I can see that whole areas of green have become grey. That's the reason the poor things are struggling, I feel pretty sure.

iano · Apr 10, 2006

If you've got the room .... let your privet go wild and don't cut it. I've got a bush about 5 or 6 mtrs high that was there when i moved in over 20 years ago and has been untouched since. The birds love it. All of them, not just the Sparrows.

iano.

scampo · Apr 11, 2006

iano said:
If you've got the room .... let your privet go wild and don't cut it. I've got a bush about 5 or 6 mtrs high that was there when i moved in over 20 years ago and has been untouched since. The birds love it. All of them, not just the Sparrows.

iano.

Hi iano

It must be a fact that cover and food are what they seem to need above all else. Not so different from us, eh?

timmyjones · Apr 11, 2006

I once saw a design like this (picture) in some ones back garden with loads of sparrows buzzing round it. Sorry about the dreadful paint drawing!

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