Kay wrote:
In article , Douglas
Douglas.1k writes
We have Sparrows up here (West Central Scotland), and too does it
surprise me to learn that they are 'scarce'.
They are not 'scarce'.
But they have declined by a large proportion over the last 20 years
or
so.
A big decline from a high starting point may not make a species
scarce, but it is still a cause for concern.
I have no expert knowledge, but I bet house-sparrows are one of the
species which multiplied hugely because humans were about, and that
they've been declining steadily with the urban horse population. The
increase in the size of cereal fields, along with the decrease in
hedgerow cover and wild seeds for them to eat while waiting for the
grain crop, and the universal use of combine harvesters, must have
had a similar effect in the countryside.
There's a healthy little breeding colony outside my window here in
Cheltenham, though; and the fields over the road are pasture, not
arable.
Mike.