Sparrows Need Hedges

Why the House Sparrow is in Decline

The house sparrow is vanishing from UK cities because its habitat is being destroyed. As sparrows were everywhere, it was assumed they could live anywhere. This is fundamentally wrong, the house sparrow is very particular in its needs. The reason they were common was because its habitat was widespread. This is changing. What we're witnessing in the UK are local extinctions as its habitat disappears. Sparrows Need Hedges.

Parking cars off-road has destroyed house sparrow habitat. Miles of privet hedge have been ripped out because motor insurance companies give discounts for off-street parking, and council instigated Controlled Parking Zones charge residents for parking outside their homes. Millions of front gardens, with wild flowers, weeds and lawns, producing tonnes of insects and seeds for sparrows, have been replaced with tarmac, concrete and block paving.

Just think what house sparrows do when you see them? They dive into hedges. They like sitting in trees too, but privet offers them more. It's cover from sparrowhawks and cats, a structure to build nests in, and underneath there's earth for dust baths. Privet hedges are ready-made larders of insects, give shade from the sun and shelter against the wind and rain - and just as importantly, for resting, digesting, preening and territorial chirruping. They are fundamental to the life of the sparrow.

The importance of the suburban hedgerow has been overlooked. Hedges were a network of safe paths, giving the bird the ability to travel if it needed. Recent over-development and road widening schemes have severed traditional pathways across urban areas. Council's increasingly allow houses with gardens to be demolished and replaced by blocks of luxury apartments surrounded by a car park. There is nowhere on these buildings for sparrows to nest and nowhere around to feed.

This type of low maintenance planting is used on most new developments, to look cosmetically green, though it has little merit for wildlife

Property developers leave nothing for the house sparrow. They build to the boundaries of the available plot, and any 'green' areas consist of slow growing spiky plants poking through layers of inert bark. These developments generate money for builders and local authorities, but wildlife needs are ignored. They don't plant yew, elder or privet and prefer pretty flowering pink cherry trees to hawthorn. The latter offers juicy buds in spring and tasty berries in the autumn.

Sparrows are sociable creatures despite their constant squabbling, and require a larger nest space than other birds to roost in family groups, but modern roofing prevents them from nesting under eaves. This made alternative nesting options vital, yet few houses now have ivy growing up them - property insurance discourages it - this was another excellent natural structure sparrows used for nesting and insect source.

The term 'home improvements' is a misnomer for house sparrows. Efficient plastic guttering has replaced miles of blocked rusting cast iron gutters, which provided countless bathing and drinking opportunities. Gardens have changed too. The decking craze offers potential homes for rodents but nothing for birds, neither does swathes of gravel-covered plastic sheeting, removing further areas of ground to feed from. Sparrows' reliance on privet increased as other factors changed to make their existence arduous.

House sparrows are sedentary birds, usually living in the locally of where they were born. Only when areas are overcrowded does the need to forage further for food and new nest sites become necessary - but they can only scout if there is continuity of habitat as they are not distance fliers. The remaining sparrow colonies in cities are being trapped in decreasing 'island' territories, unable to escape, as there is no safe way out.

With these smaller groups, new broods barely replace killed and aging family members, and as there is no interaction with sparrows from other 'trapped' flocks, the problems of inbreeding within shrinking populations is a concern. When the remaining areas of habitat finally become too small, even if all the factors are still available, a critical size is reached where there isn't enough habitat available to support a colony, and it eventually dies out. A single 1930's semi-detached house in the suburbs with hedges and gardens, would barely be able to support a thriving colony of house sparrows if all the neighbouring houses were bird proofed, had gardens filled with non-native plants, sported patios and had their fronts paved over for cars.

Suburban hedge removal is akin to the slash and burn destruction of tropical rain forests, that we all condemn, yet our current reckless building policies are making the UK's urban hedgerow and attendant wildlife difficult to replace. We've learnt nothing from the devastation inflicted in the countryside, when miles of hedgerow were grubbed out, decimating species of plants and animals in the name of agricultural efficiency. My local London council still sprays weedkiller on pavements. Why? Anyone watching a sparrow tread down a dandelion stalk to feed from the fluffy seed head would realise the necessity for even the humblest weed.

House sparrows choose to live close to human habitation. They like to nest in our houses where it is dry, and be within easy reach of a safe garden. If the humans put out scraps of food even better, especially if there is also cover for them to hide, rest and socialise in. If we discourage the sparrow by removing their habitat, we shouldn't be surprised to have flocks of pigeons taking the food we put out. Unlike the sparrow, these birds have no qualms about flying miles to feed and can nest on building ledges, and in the case of wood pigeons, trees.

Their increase, and that of the collared dove, is not causing house sparrows to be driven away, they have just exploited the decline of the bird. Along with citing cats and sparrowhawks for the sparrow's demise, again it is easier to blame other species than the actual culprit - human beings. Whilst sparrow specialists get paid to look for the elusive reason for the birds alarming decline, those in the know already realise the destruction of its preferred habitat is to blame.

Despite some reasons already being mentioned in certain published documents, important conclusions are being missed. By holding on to the idea there's some complicated explanation yet to be discovered, society is absolving itself of blame. Even The Independent newspaper's 'reward' of £5000 for discovering the 'scientific reason' works against the house sparrow. How scientific is grubbing out a hedge?

The causes are apparent and all around us, yet people assume they can rip out their front garden hedges and bird proof their homes, and developers can demolish traditional houses with gardens, and replace them with sterile blocks of apartments, all knowing they cannot be blamed for sparrow decline - because the scientists are still working on the problem! The damage is criminal, and irresponsible. Hedgehogs and starlings are suffering too. This reckless destruction has to stop now.

Several times a day a flock of local sparrows would congregate in this hedge to socialise, feed or dust bathe.

Habitat loss equals sparrow loss. The experts have yet to grasp this simple truth. It may be a mundane answer when compared to the interesting research projects currently underway like lack of food, predation and appropriate nest sites; but unless suitable cover is a part of a sparrows' habitat, there will be lack of access to food, they will be predated upon, and they won't be able to search for new nest sites. Hedges as necessary cover, is the vital conduit the sparrow requires to enable it to sustain the basics of its existence. Take the cover away and they will encounter difficulties and stress.

There is no neat answer that can be easily corrected - the causes are many. To actually halt the destruction of its habitat is a daunting task. Try getting your local council to stop housing development - the increased council tax return is too alluring. Try asking your neighbours not to pave over their front gardens but grow and maintain their hedges instead and pay extra to park their cars. Try informing people they should have sparrows in their roof, with the mess and noise that often goes with them. These things are very difficult to do.

The London Biodiversity Partnership is working towards understanding the reasons by 2010! How much time do they need? Sparrow loss is happening now. I can show anyone places where there are sparrows and places where there are not. On three occasions this year I have been driving along unfamiliar roads in my borough and thought: this is a place where sparrows would live. Each time I stopped my vehicle, wound the windows down and been proved right by seeing house sparrows sitting in privet hedges chirruping away - in gardens of traditional houses.

This loud chirruping male can quickly dive into the hedge or disappear into its nest under the roof if threatened.

How come these birds have escaped the scourge of the unknown scientific explanation? It's because they've been left alone. No one's disturbed their habitat. Even something as mundane as having pebble-dashed walls are a help. Sparrows cling on to search out gaps in soffit boards for access to the roof. But just somewhere to nest is not enough. Birds need to eat. Putting up nest boxes is all very well, but without places to find food there is no point, and unless there is cover for the birds to fly into to feel safe and have somewhere to sit, rest, digest and preen, then even a food source is not enough. Hedges are the last bastions for the sparrow. If need be they can be nest, food store, cover and have bare earth underneath for dust baths, and that's why they are so important.

House sparrows do not live where they cannot live. There is no magic scientific answer, and the sooner this revelation is accepted the quicker society can choose whether to take action to halt the destruction. House sparrows will not live in a concrete wilderness. It's why there are no sparrows living next to the Greater London Assembly City Hall building near Tower Bridge. This odd shaped steel and glass structure has no nooks or crannies for nesting, and its harsh open surroundings leave nowhere for sparrows to naturally feed or hide.

Architects are paid millions for their wildlife unfriendly designs, yet they haven't got a clue about sustainable development, or what a healthy living city needs - biodiversity.

The central area of London's Heathrow airport still possesses a healthy green habitat for house sparrows.

Conversely, the central area of Heathrow airport still has a thriving house sparrow colony because there are hedges, trees, and gardens amongst the roads, car parks and terminals - unnoticed by the millions of travelers who pass through each year. The dense ivy and bushes, and range of airport buildings offer many nest sites, while the flat ashfelt roofs provide the sparrows with innumerable pools of water.

The disappearance of house sparrows is a warning - the quality of urban and suburban life is deteriorating. Crazy paving is exactly what it is! The leafy suburbs of UK cities are vanishing as urbanisation spreads, causing the Green Belts to become an unwitting noose, forcing an increasing human population density within their confines - with all the antisocial problems overcrowding causes, and high summer temperatures and poor air quality concreting cities produces.

It's often queried why there are no house sparrows in London's Royal Parks anymore. Walking around them you can see there isn't much resembling typical house sparrow habitat. There are plenty of trees, but being parks there are few buildings, and apart from the ornamental gardens and bushes, there are no hedges. Amongst the shrubs are squirrels, with blackbirds and robins continually turning over leaf litter in their own territorial patches. Pigeons and carrion crows seem to be everywhere, especially in Kensington Gardens. There's obviously food around for these larger birds to make it worth their while flying in to central London, it's mainly supplied unwittingly by the park's visitors, but it's the changes to the surrounding buildings that has caused the sparrow's decline.

Central London properties are well maintained, belonging to governments, large companies or the rich. Hedges pose security problems and many have been removed. Few dilapidated buildings exist and massive redevelopment schemes are designed for people not wildlife. The sparrows seen feeding in the parks years ago never lived there, but came in from their nests in the surrounding properties. Over the years these buildings have been replaced, modernised and bird proofed, making it impossible for house sparrows to thrive.

Buildings across central London often have fine mesh nets, wires, spikes or gels on them, designed to discourage birds. Where do people expect house sparrows to nest? Measures to stop pigeons and starlings have affected sparrows. Food and hygiene legislation is extremely strict about 'infestation' from birds nesting nearby. These laws cover all food-serving pubs, fast food restaurants & canteens and so it's not surprising there are fewer places for sparrows to nest.

Stables were always the ideal habitat for house sparrows. The bird's noticeable decline in London since the 1930's is blamed on the replacement of horses by the internal combustion engine. Old style stables provided practically all a contented sparrow colony needed, with straw for nesting in the many nooks and crannies of the roof, water for drinking and bathing, a dung heap supplying insects, and plenty of grain available from the horse feed. Sadly there are hardly any stables left in central London.

It's not by accident Army barracks were situated around the edges of the Royal parks. They offered open space to exercise both men and horses used for functional and ceremonial duties. The original ramshackled wooden stables have long been replaced, and barracks that still have horses, like Hyde Park, re-opened in 1970, are typical examples of sixties designed, concrete architecture, wholly unfriendly to sparrows. Modernisation of the few large stables left in London, directly contributed to the further reduction of central London sparrow populations.

In Kensington Gardens, not surprisingly, various bird song is heard emanating from the hedged private Palace gardens. However, the Round Pond is extremely small-bird unfriendly, with no cover at all around its concrete edge, and there are enough seagulls and pigeons to take any excess food the ducks and geese don't eat. Apart from the additional waterfowl on the Long Water, there is one other part of this park containing a wealth of bird life. This is the fenced area behind the Peter Pan statue, which is quite extensive and contains the ground maintenance team's huts, garages and equipment. It has many trees, hedges and dense scrub and is not disturbed by the public. Many different garden birds live there including parakeets! Last summer I heard and saw one solitary male house sparrow dive into a hedge near the statue.

St. James Park also has a fenced-off area for the groundskeepers sheds surrounded by trees and bushes. Again, a similar mix of garden birds are evident. Areas like these provide the necessary habitat and security small birds prefer and were probably the last places central London's isolated declining sparrow colonies held out.

New buildings and the renovation of existing ones surrounding the parks with ongoing bird defence measures, have all conspired against the house sparrow's chance of living in London. As London has changed, the options where sparrows can nest have diminished. Continued development in the suburbs including the loss of front gardens, has decimated London's main sparrow breeding grounds, ending any hope of surplus birds migrating to the centre.

Why expect house sparrows to live in towns and cities if there is no suitable habitat? They have a long association of living close to human dwellings. It's the changes we are making that are driving them away. If it was due to a rise in the magpie population, then why have I been able to visit the same sparrow colonies each year? Surely the magpies know where they live? All the sparrow families I'm acquainted with, live where privet hedges are a part of their habitat. Only a concerted effort to replace hedges, nest sites and not building on every open space, might we counter the decline of this once widespread gregarious little bird.

Either we recognise and accept the causes and help spread the truth, or disbelieve and become part of the sparrow's continuing problem.