# Starlings and sparrows



## Spacerunner

Anyone else noticed that starlings and sparrow numbers appear to be on the up?
Its like old times here with a small resident flock of starlings flying into the garden about three times a day.


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## Spiritofherald

Sparrows have been on the increase in my garden since I stared putting seed out several years ago. We used to have only a handful but now there are dozens of them. On the other hand starlings were commonplace many years ago but I rarely see one now.

We used to have a large variety of birds in our garden until about five years ago, now all I get is Sparrows, Blackbirds, Jays, Magpies, Robins and the occassional blue tit. I do wonder if the high number of Sparrows has driven them all away.


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## MrsW

We have masses of both and of many other birds in our garden and they really enjoy the feeders we put out! We can't find peanuts for them here in France so bring them back from the UK when we visit and the birds seem very pleased!


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## Sprinta

I live a half mile away from the Exe and all we get in the back garden are sparrows - hordes of them feeding in a squabbling rotation at the feeders, and the occasional pigeon. No starlings right now, perhaps they are on holiday, but they are also regular visitors to the bird bath.

Half a mile away, with the front garden ending in a mooring actually on the Exe, my parents never see any sparrows. But they get lots of varieties of tits, a pair of woodpeckers, pigeons and gulls and dozens of cormorants that roost on the electricity pylons on the river.


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## Westbay

Went to RSPB Ham Wall last week. 200,000 starlings come to roost. In Jan this will rise to approaching 1,000,000 birds. 8O


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## 96299

Have indeed noticed an increase in Sparrow populations in certain areas, but not so much with Starlings. Would love to see them back to the kind of numbers that they used to enjoy.

Steve


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## aldra

we have two colonies of sparrows, front and back they live in the ivy and hedges

Whenever we put out fat balls we get a flock of Starlings they must "smell " them from miles away

Sacks of Bird seed and tubs of fat balls half price at our Aldi so we stocked up

They go through masses of bird food

Aldra


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## miffy

we had loads of sparrows in our garden that we feed and watched but sadly a sparrow hawk has set up home near by and sparrows are no more


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## trevd01

There are virtually no sparrows where we live ( a small Pennine town). We have lived here for 20 years and have probably only had five in the garden in that time - when one male appeared on one of our feeders for a few days this spring we got quite exited.

Actually sparrows generally are on the decline - the house sparrow is now red-listed as a species of high conservation concern.

They are always going to be more common where there is arable farming (it is all sheep round here)



RSPB said:


> UK House sparrow populations have fluctuated greatly over the centuries, with a gradual decline over the last 100 years. Causes for the rapid recent declines, particularly in urban and suburban environments, remain largely undetermined, although research is underway that aims to establish the cause(s), and develop conservation solutions.
> 
> Declines in rural house sparrow populations are thought to be linked to changes in agricultural practices, particularly the loss of winter stubbles and improved hygiene measures around grain stores.
> 
> House sparrow numbers were not monitored adequately before the mid-1970s. Since then, numbers in rural England have nearly halved while numbers in towns and cities have declined by 60 per cent. Because of these large population declines, the house sparrow is now red-listed as a species of high conservation concern.


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## autostratus

MrsW said:


> We have masses of both and of many other birds in our garden and they really enjoy the feeders we put out! We can't find peanuts for them here in France so bring them back from the UK when we visit and the birds seem very pleased!


Ah! True but you can't have it both ways.
We take peanuts to France for the garden on the plot of our mobilehome in the Dordogne but we bring back bags of sunflower seeds which are cheaper there than in the uk.

The red sqirrels and tits etc like the peanuts but the hawfinches like picking around the base of the sunflower seed feeder.

Looking forward to the spring


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## listerdiesel

We used to have a mating pair of Starlings that came back every year to nest in part of the old house eaves, but they haven't been back for quite a while, so probably popped it by now, they must have raised a few young over the years. 

The field where the nags are has almost every kind of winged beast, Kestrels hunt in the areas around the hedges, pigeons come over from the town and we have Robins and other smaller birds that feed on the seed we put out.

We buy the big bags of mixed birdseed from Costco, and we get through one of those in a fortnight, that's two feeders in the Hawthorn bushes to keep out the big birds, and what we scatter on the ground for the small rodents.

Peter


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## 96299

miffy said:


> we had loads of sparrows in our garden that we feed and watched but sadly a sparrow hawk has set up home near by and sparrows are no more


Not sadly. I would love a Sparrowhawk to frequent my garden 8)

Steve


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## aldra

You can have mine Steve 

Actually no, it is a magnificent bird and we have so many sparrows that it doesn't seem to affect them

Visits from time to time and for a few hours afterwards the sparrows grow very quiet, then they are back to their usual noisy squabbling

Aldra


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## Spiritofherald

trevd01 said:


> Declines in rural house sparrow populations are thought to be linked to changes in agricultural practices, particularly the loss of winter stubbles and improved hygiene measures around grain stores.


I'm not convinced that's the reason for the decline (not that I'm in any way an expert you inderstand!) but I was raised in a very large town with no farm land and very few fields for miles around, yet in the '60s and maybe early 70's sparrows could be seen by the hundreds.

I have vivid memories of the house roof ridge tiles being lined with sparrows, with perhaps 40 or 50 per roof. I always presumed they used the roof ridges to roost as trees were few and far between in that area.

Incidentally, I now live in a semi-rural location and I don't miss my home town one little bit


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## MrsW

We have masses of birds of prey round here but that doesn't seem to worry the other birds too much!


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## Sprinta

met this pretty birdie on Sunday, 8 months old Eagle Owl.


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## Jodi1

There Are alot more starlings in the country at the moment as they come here to winter in the UKs more temperate climate. That's why you get to see the huge flocks of starlings coming into roost at places like Ham Wall. These flocks and there fantastic flying displays are called murmerations, ive never seen one for real only on the telly. But they are truly an amazing winter spectacle. Thinking about it I have seen a small one of about fifty birds. They used to come and roost in some old leylandi trees nearby and did some lovely acrobatic fly passes before settling for the night. What the birds are after is soft damp ground (lots of that this year) in order to feed. They eat grubs and worms mainly and in particular leatherjackets, the larvae of the crane fly. Once the ground starts to freeze then they are unable to push their beaks into the soil and they move on, hence the reason they are here. If there are any outdoor pig units near you, then the starlings will be there, not only eating any spare pig food, but watching and following the pigs as they dig though the soil.

I've noticed a few more sparrows about. There has always been a resident flock which hang out in a bush up the road from the house. I think people in the houses feed them and they have been there for at least twenty years that I know of. Occasionally we will get a pair of sparrows prospecting the nest boxes round the house each spring, but they get chased off by the resident blue and great tits.


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## trevd01

Sprinta said:


> met this pretty birdie on Sunday, 8 months old Eagle Owl.


And heres one of a pair Eagle Owls we saw in a tree last month, (sorry about the picture quality, didn't have my big camera with me).


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## prof20

Somewhat off topic, but seeing as we have drifted onto owls, what about this one?

www.wimp.com/transformerowl/#

Roger


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## GypsyRose

Regulary get starlings and sparrows too. They are tremendous to watch! Most of all though, we love "our" robin.


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## zappy61

*Starlings*

We get loads of starlings and they do decimate the feeders, sadly no sparrows yet 20 years ago they were in abundance. It maybe that there is lack of nesting places for them now houses don't have open eaves any more. We do get all the finches including on of my favourite the goldfinch. This year we got a pair of nuthatches.


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## Jodi1

What a great photo Zappy

This year we have had a pair of Nuthatches too. I'm beginning to wonder if they are a bird that is improving in numbers. Seem to hear them more when out and about


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## Spiritofherald

Jodi1 said:


> What a great photo Zappy
> 
> This year we have had a pair of Nuthatches too. I'm beginning to wonder if they are a bird that is improving in numbers. Seem to hear them more when out and about


Possibly not as we had Nuthatches up to about 5 years ago but then they disappeared.


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## trevd01

Different nuthatch pose! We have more nuthatches than sparrows.


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## Spacerunner

The New Forest appears to have more nuthatches than sparrows.
Could be a clue there, the nuthatches, like robins, are quite aggressive.


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## 747

We had a week at Bridge of Allan in Scotland this summer. It was a real pleasure to walk along the streets and hear the sound of lots of Sparrows. It took me right back to my childhood.  

It's good to hear that there are plenty of you looking after the garden birds.


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## esperelda

We live in North Devon and I have never noticed any starlings at our bird feeder until a few weeks ago, now they are here every day. It's a bit of a bun fight between the starlings, sparrows and pigeons.


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