Camden News: Sparrow | Hampstead Heath | City of London | Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Camden News - by DAN CARRIER
Published: 19 February 2009

‘Yea, the sparrow hath found an house...’

THEY were once as much a part of the capital’s feathered community as the pigeons in Trafalgar Square or the ravens at the Tower. But the number of sparrows is in dramatic decline and experts fear the small mottled brown birds could one day be
completely wiped out.
Determined to save the sparrow, conservationists have come up with a new plan to turn a swathe of Hampstead Heath into a haven specifically for sparrows, a possible lifeline to the archetypal London bird.
Grassland on the slopes of Parliament Hill will be out of bounds this spring as Heath rangers plant hundreds of meadow flowers and wild grasses in a desperate attempt to provide a natural larder of insects for sparrows to gorge on.
The scheme comes as new research revealed that in the past 15 years, the numbers of sparrows has fallen by nearly 70 percent. The collapse has been blamed on increased traffic, the craze for decking and paving in back gardens and the loss of trees. All have contributed to a decline in the sparrow’s diet of seeds and insects.
The new project on the Heath – one of the only schemes of its kind –
will be run by the City of London and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) for three years and be carefully monitored by volunteers.
Sparrow expert Jackie Read of the RSPB said although the area on the Heath may look a little unkempt, it would provide the perfect habitat to help the bird to recover.
She said: “We hope this will provide insects for young sparrows to feed on and then in the autumn provide seeds for the adults.
She added that they had always been associated with the city as it had in the past provided the ideal habitat.
“Sparrows like to build nests in the nooks and crannies you find in buildings,” she said. “It made London perfect for them, but that is no longer the case.”

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: