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#1
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Garden birds
Before we went away we had a great number of different birds, but mainly
Sparrows, both House and Hedge, along with Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Great Tits etc etc etc. but there seems to be a great decline in the Sparrow population. All the others have returned to the many feeders we have, but the flocks of Sparrows which would number 20 - 25 sometimes, are down to half a dozen. I understand there has been a hard winter, is this the reason? Killed of? Mike -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
#2
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Garden birds
Killed of?
sorry, killed 'off' ;-) Mike |
#3
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Garden birds
"Mike" wrote in message ... Before we went away we had a great number of different birds, but mainly Sparrows, both House and Hedge, along with Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Great Tits etc etc etc. but there seems to be a great decline in the Sparrow population. All the others have returned to the many feeders we have, but the flocks of Sparrows which would number 20 - 25 sometimes, are down to half a dozen. I understand there has been a hard winter, is this the reason? Killed of? House sparrow numbers have been doing odd things over the past 10 years. Where I grew up (council estate on north side of Dublin), they used to be easily the commonest birds and every house had one or two nests under the roof tiles (big orange ceramic tiles). Now they are still there but in very small numbers. Where I live now (Dublin suburbs, we have a local resident flock of about 10 birds. I worry that nesting sites in cities are getting harder to find as people do not like them nesting in their fascia and soffits and under tiles. Suburban gardens are also now tidier, possibly with more cats and fewer big seed covered weeds? I wonder what the sparrow numbers are doing in the countryside? Mike -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
#4
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Garden birds
Des Higgins wrote: "Mike" wrote in message ... Before we went away we had a great number of different birds, but mainly Sparrows, both House and Hedge, along with Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Great Tits etc etc etc. but there seems to be a great decline in the Sparrow population. All the others have returned to the many feeders we have, but the flocks of Sparrows which would number 20 - 25 sometimes, are down to half a dozen. I understand there has been a hard winter, is this the reason? Killed of? House sparrow numbers have been doing odd things over the past 10 years. Where I grew up (council estate on north side of Dublin), they used to be easily the commonest birds and every house had one or two nests under the roof tiles (big orange ceramic tiles). Now they are still there but in very small numbers. Where I live now (Dublin suburbs, we have a local resident flock of about 10 birds. I worry that nesting sites in cities are getting harder to find as people do not like them nesting in their fascia and soffits and under tiles. Suburban gardens are also now tidier, possibly with more cats and fewer big seed covered weeds? I wonder what the sparrow numbers are doing in the countryside? This is not scientific, but they are one of the most numerous visitors to my feeders. The tits (great, blue and coal) are next, followed by green finches and chaffinches. We had a few magnificent gold finches around during the long cold spell of early spring, but no sighting of them this week end (I am a week end observer, not being about in daylight hours during the week). Cat(h) |
#5
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Garden birds
"Cat(h)" wrote in message ups.com... Des Higgins wrote: "Mike" wrote in message ... Before we went away we had a great number of different birds, but mainly Sparrows, both House and Hedge, along with Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Great Tits etc etc etc. but there seems to be a great decline in the Sparrow population. All the others have returned to the many feeders we have, but the flocks of Sparrows which would number 20 - 25 sometimes, are down to half a dozen. I understand there has been a hard winter, is this the reason? Killed of? House sparrow numbers have been doing odd things over the past 10 years. Where I grew up (council estate on north side of Dublin), they used to be easily the commonest birds and every house had one or two nests under the roof tiles (big orange ceramic tiles). Now they are still there but in very small numbers. Where I live now (Dublin suburbs, we have a local resident flock of about 10 birds. I worry that nesting sites in cities are getting harder to find as people do not like them nesting in their fascia and soffits and under tiles. Suburban gardens are also now tidier, possibly with more cats and fewer big seed covered weeds? I wonder what the sparrow numbers are doing in the countryside? This is not scientific, but they are one of the most numerous visitors to my feeders. The tits (great, blue and coal) are next, followed by 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. green finches and chaffinches. We had a few magnificent gold finches around during the long cold spell of early spring, but no sighting of them this week end (I am a week end observer, not being about in daylight hours during the week). Cat(h) |
#6
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Garden birds
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) |
#7
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Garden birds
"Cat(h)" wrote in message oups.com... 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 did it in the 70s and my granny used to do it before that so some people have been doing it for ages. I suspect that it does not make up much for lost habitat etc. To really make it count you have to do it consistently (I believe). I suspect most people who do it, do it now and that is not enough to really change feeding patterns. 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) |
#8
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Garden birds
"Mike" wrote in message ... Before we went away we had a great number of different birds, but mainly Sparrows, both House and Hedge, along with Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Great Tits etc etc etc. but there seems to be a great decline in the Sparrow population. All the others have returned to the many feeders we have, but the flocks of Sparrows which would number 20 - 25 sometimes, are down to half a dozen. I understand there has been a hard winter, is this the reason? Killed of? Mike It hasnt been an especilaly hard winter by historical standards, just hard compared to the last few years. In addition to structural changes in the countryside (less stuff lying around in fields after harvest, fewer nesting sites in suburbia) ISTR that if you do the maths, the 65,000 or so pairs of sparrow hawks there are now, will eat at least 10 million sparrows every year. 20 years ago or so I think the number of sparrow hawks was maybe 10% of what it is now? -- Tumbleweed email replies not necessary but to contact use; tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com |
#9
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Garden birds
In message , Tumbleweed
writes It hasnt been an especilaly hard winter by historical standards, just hard compared to the last few years. In addition to structural changes in the countryside (less stuff lying around in fields after harvest, fewer nesting sites in suburbia) ISTR that if you do the maths, the 65,000 or so pairs of sparrow hawks there are now, will eat at least 10 million sparrows every year. 20 years ago or so I think the number of sparrow hawks was maybe 10% of what it is now? There seem to be plenty of sparrows round here (suburb of Reading) including a pair nesting under my tiles. One of my neighbours has a terraced nestbox for several pairs of sparrows. Mostly you don't see them so much as hear them, when you walk past a really noisy bush. The RSPB say goldfinches mainly eat niger seeds from garden bird feeders; my neighbours say they go round in a flock stripping garden plants bare of seeds then move on to the next garden. Nothing is taking the seeds or peanuts from my feeders although there are plenty of birds about - I think people must be putting out more food than they can eat. -- Sue ] |
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