House sparrows.

There used to be thousands of house sparrows in our inner cities, including London which was once a house sparrow stronghold. But today there are very few in and around the capital and their numbers are down. House sparrows have lived alongside man for thousands of years. In the early twentieth century they were so common that people trapped, shot and even ate house sparrows. Then in the 1990`s there was a serious crash in sparrow numbers. In only a few years over half of London's population of sparrows had disappeared. They declined faster in London that anywhere else. They were put on the red list of species, which is the endangered list. So why was this happening? It is thought that insects may have something to do with it, and cars and cats were not to blame for the massive population decrease. Because of industry, green spaces have declined and air pollution has increased, causing insect numbers to decline. This has had a knock on effect on house sparrows feeding themselves and especially their chicks, which when first born feed mainly on insects.These insects are vital for the chicks when they are first born. They have also lost numerous nesting sites because they rely on our houses to nest in. We have had a major impact on them as well, by removing shrubs from our gardens and then paving over them we have reduced the amount of insects in our gardens. It has become popular to keep our gardens really tidy as well, whereas years ago we would of had compost heaps and leaf piles for hundreds of insects to hide in. We have also filled in all of the little nooks and crannies with p.v.c cladding around the outside of our houses. This has had a huge impact on the nesting sites of the house sparrow. A row of houses with a few cracks and crevices are ideal for the house sparrow so they can get into our lofts to enable them to nest. We also need to think about having thick shrubs and hedges back in our gardens.Reservoirs are important for sparrows to get aphids and insects, essential protein for them and their chicks. House sparrows are colonial nesters so they like to nest together. They can also find nesting material and socialise around the reservoirs . They are an iconic bird for us to live along side . Healthy wildlife in our cities is a great indication for us. It can show us how healthy or polluted our wildlife is in our cities. healthy sparrows are a great indicater that we are going to be healthy aswell.