I have just moved into my first house with a garden in London. Fantastic.

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...

In article , Fredie
writes
I have just moved into my first house with a garden in London. Fantastic.

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...


In Leeds
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...


In Leeds
and Sth. Gloucestershire :-)

"Kate Morgan" wrote in message
...

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no
sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...


In Leeds
and Sth. Gloucestershire :-)

But none in Windsor!

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

In article , Kate Morgan
writes

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...


In Leeds
and Sth. Gloucestershire :-)

and N London.
--
June Hughes

"Fredie" wrote in message
...
I have just moved into my first house with a garden in London. Fantastic.

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...

On the RSPB red list for endangered species :-(

Latest thoughts are that there's some chemical in petrol that acts like an
insecticide, killing off the sparrows' food supply.

That said, where we are (just outside Maidstone) they seem to be around,
though perhaps not in the numbers I remember from when I was small - you
don't see them along the telegraph wires like you used to.

Nutter
--
Allotment diary - http://www.livejournal.com/users/plot163

On Wed, 19 Mar 2003 19:19:13 -0000, Fredie wrote:

Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...

Surrounded by them here (North Lincolnshire). Up to a dozen at any one time
on the bird table. Also sitting in the hedge just waiting their turn :-)

Don't despair - I think they've just deserted urban areas for the
countryside.
--
Regards,

John.

In article , Nutter
writes
"Fredie" wrote in message
...
I have just moved into my first house with a garden in London. Fantastic.

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...

On the RSPB red list for endangered species :-(

Not because they have become rare but because they are declining very
rapidly - they've gone from 'outrageously common' to 'common' very
quickly. And I suppose the though is that if they keep declining this
quickly, it won't be long till they *are* rare.

Latest thoughts are that there's some chemical in petrol that acts like an
insecticide, killing off the sparrows' food supply.

That said, where we are (just outside Maidstone) they seem to be around,
though perhaps not in the numbers I remember from when I was small - you
don't see them along the telegraph wires like you used to.

Nutter
--
Allotment diary - http://www.livejournal.com/users/plot163



--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

In article ,
Jane Ransom writes:
| In article , Nutter
| writes
|
| Latest thoughts are that there's some chemical in petrol that acts like an
| insecticide, killing off the sparrows' food supply.
|
| Hang on a minute.
| They feed mainly on grain and weed seeds and, in built up areas, almost
| entirely on bread and scraps supplied by heumingbeens!!!!!!!!!

Most of the UK is repeatedly covered with a thin layer of petrol
residues. Yes, really. I suspect that we would have noticed the
effect in other ways, though.


Can you please tell me what is the dirty-green, finch-type bird with a
narrow yellow stripe on its wing and a beak like a Roman nose? We have
them in our garden and the sparrows are extremely rude to them. TIA
--
June Hughes

very droll you guys

I am in North London

I thought there might be some environmental thing going on, but it seems
they have all gone up north...


June Hughes wrote in message
...
In article , Kate Morgan
writes

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no
sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...


In Leeds
and Sth. Gloucestershire :-)

and N London.
--
June Hughes

In article , June Hughes
writes
Can you please tell me what is the dirty-green, finch-type bird with a
narrow yellow stripe on its wing and a beak like a Roman nose? We have
them in our garden and the sparrows are extremely rude to them. TIA

Greenfinch.
The females are similar but less green. In my garden they seem to hang
out with the sparrows.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

In article , Fredie
writes
very droll you guys

I am in North London

I thought there might be some environmental thing going on, but it seems
they have all gone up north...

Excuse me..............

June Hughes wrote in message
...

and N London.
--
June Hughes


PS that's what comes of top-posting
--
June Hughes

In article , Kay Easton
writes
In article , June Hughes
writes
Can you please tell me what is the dirty-green, finch-type bird with a
narrow yellow stripe on its wing and a beak like a Roman nose? We have
them in our garden and the sparrows are extremely rude to them. TIA

Greenfinch.
The females are similar but less green. In my garden they seem to hang
out with the sparrows.

Thanks Kay. The sparrows certainly boss them around here!
--
June Hughes

In article ,
says...
In article , Nutter
writes
"Fredie" wrote in message
...
I have just moved into my first house with a garden in London. Fantastic.

I have seen lots of birds - tits, blackbirds and so on. But no sparrows.
Anybody got any ideas about where all the sparrows are...

On the RSPB red list for endangered species :-(

Not because they have become rare but because they are declining very
rapidly - they've gone from 'outrageously common' to 'common' very
quickly. And I suppose the though is that if they keep declining this
quickly, it won't be long till they *are* rare.

It was also suggested recently that sparrows need a minimum number in
their social groups to be able to breed properly. The less birds there
are in a particular group, the less likely they are to breed
successfully, so the numbers reduce even further..., eventual leading to
the loss of the group.


Johanna

"Johanna" wrote in message
...
: In article ,
: says...
: : Not because they have become rare but because they are declining very
: rapidly - they've gone from 'outrageously common' to 'common' very
: quickly. And I suppose the though is that if they keep declining this
: quickly, it won't be long till they *are* rare.
:
: It was also suggested recently that sparrows need a minimum number in
: their social groups to be able to breed properly. The less birds there
: are in a particular group, the less likely they are to breed
: successfully, so the numbers reduce even further..., eventual leading to
: the loss of the group.
:
:
: Johanna

Another possible reason given is that many people are now replacing gutters
and wooden facias with PVC and blocking all previous access into walls,
roof, etc. The BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) is carrying out a
sparrow survey at present which includes questions about this and also about
the height and type of shrubs in people's gardens.

K