Des Higgins wrote:
"Cat(h)" wrote in message
ups.com...
That is reassuring but the numbers really have changed. In the 1960s/70s in
Dublin suburbs, apart from starlings, you would get 20 sparrows for every
chaffinch/blue tit/great tit combined, coming to gardens to feed.
Starlings were seasonal and you would suddenly get 30 in one go and then
none for a while.



Just a question: how old is the tradition of feeding birds in gardens
in Ireland andthe UK? It seems to me to be a relatively recent (say a
handful of decades) pursuit?
Does anyone know whether it is compensating for hte loss of food
sources from fewer hedgerows, and evolving farming practices?

I know it's not very on topic, but I must say it is one of the most
enjoyable parts of owning and maintaining a garden. The blackbirds
*love* foraging for worms in my mulched beds :-)

Cat(h)