In message , Dave Poole
writes
When I first moved to this part of Torquay, there was a cheery
population of sparrows here in the village. mostly, they congregated
around the local pub at the top of the road. They disappeared about 12
years ago and I've not seen another sparrow in Torquay itself since. I
understand there is still a resident population in the grounds of
Paignton Zoo, but that's about the closest to here. I haven't seen a
starling for donkey's years either - two of what were once the most
common of birds, now all but locally extinct :-(

Hundreds of both here when we moved here nearly 35 years ago; both
disappeared about ten years ago, but just in the last two years a few
have appeared again on the bird table, though never stayed to nest.
Haven't heard a cuckoo either for about a decade. Lots of tits of all
kinds seem to have taken their place, but I miss the street urchins and
the pearly kings and queens and the harbingers of spring :-((


--
Klara, Gatwick basin