Where have the sparrows gone?

Himanshu Kaushik | TNN | Updated: Mar 20, 2017, 06.29 AM IST

AHMEDABAD : As the world celebrates 'World Sparrow Day' to create awareness of the decreasing number of house sparrows especially in urban areas, non-government organizations have joined hands to estimate a count of house sparrows in Gujarat.

The Nature Club, Surat, in coordination with the Bird Conservation Society, will be collecting data of the sightings of the house sparrow in the respective areas for a week beginning from Monday World Sparrow Day. Apart from collecting data from the people through social media app, hundreds of volunteers across the state will also report sightings of house sparrows in urban and rural area.

Snehal Patel of the Nature Club, Surat, said, "We decided to have a count when I realized that sparrows were decreasing fast in urban areas while there was still sizeable population in rural areas."

=Patel said the count will pave way for formulating policies to save sparrows. "Since the sparrow was not a scheduled bird it was not a priority of the government, and now the NGOs are joining hands to save the birds from extinction."

"Volunteers and members of the Bird Conservation Society will be conducting the count. Apart from the rough count, we would also mark areas with high populations of sparrows," Patel added. 

Continued 

London’s garden birds disappearing?

Birdwatch News Archive

Posted on: 26 May 2016

Results from the Big Garden Birdwatch suggest a decrease in numbers of garden birds in London, and the RSPB has commissioned special nest boxes to highlight this decline.

London’s most common garden birds seem to be quietly vanishing from the city's green spaces, and research has revealed that Starlings (down 34 per cent), Blackbirds (19 per cent), Blue Tits (14 per cent) and House Sparrows (13 per cent) have disappeared from its gardens over the past 12 years. This data on declining species has been taken from the RSPB’s 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch, the largest citizen science survey in Britain, and was collated and analysed by the RSPB’s Centre for Conservation Science.

There does indeed seem to be a general trend of decline, though this may be exaggerated this year by the effects of a very mild winter, which has seen many species foraging away from gardens, and an increase in the numbers of Goldfinches and Long-tailed Tits.

To highlight this decline and encourage Londoners to attract the missing birds back to the city, East Village – which has the recently created postcode E20 – has enlisted local Essex carpenter Pete Bagg to create a number of unique nest boxes in the form of iconic buildings of the London Skyline. These include historic buildings such as Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge, along with to E20’s very own Arcelor Mittal Orbit and Lee Valley Velodrome. E20 has hosted breeding Black Redstarts in recent years. East Village is the former London 2012 Athletes’ Village and represents a green haven in the heart of one of the world’s largest cities.

Neil Young, CEO of Get Living London which rents and manages homes at East Village, said: “As one of London’s greenest neighbourhoods with a big emphasis on the natural environment, East Village has invested heavily to encourage wildlife. Whether it be through ‘living roofs’ on each apartment building, the 3,000 trees – newly planted in 2011 – or [providing] 25 acres of green open space, we have worked hard to make East Village eco-friendly. With the six-acre Wetlands – a brilliant habitat for native biodiversity – we are delighted to partner with the RSPB to create these unique bird boxes to help encourage even more birds into the neighbourhood.”

The quirky bird boxes will go on show outside Get Living London’s East Village ‘Welcome Office’ from 26th May and will eventually be placed around London’s newest neighbourhood in time for next year's breeding season. The scheme has been introduced this spring as a 'call to action' for the nation to play their part to encourage birdlife wherever they live in the UK.

Read more …

Bird Notes: Peregrine numbers down across Wales

14:00, 17 NOV 2015

UPDATED 14:17, 17 NOV 2015

BY JULIAN HUGHES

Provisional results of the latest nest survey last week find the birds numbers were down 12% since 2002

Peregrines are a flagship success for bird conservation.

Numbers crashed in the 1950s, principally because organochlorine pesticides in their food chain resulted in thinner eggshells and thus many nests failed.

A pesticide ban and increased nest protection helped Peregrine numbers to increase, but even by the early 1970s, there were just a handful of pairs on Anglesey and none at all nested in northeast Wales.

Over the next 40 years, they spread along sea cliffs and started to nest on built structures, such as Wrexham police station.

Last week the provisional results of the latest nest survey were published, finding Peregrine numbers were down 12% in Wales since 2002, to fewer than 250 pairs - reduced food supply is thought to be the main driver of the change.

High winds have pushed seabirds inshore: Little Gulls were off Bardsey and the Glaslyn estuary, a late Leach’s Petrel was at Criccieth and a Sooty Shearwater off Bardsey.

Two Great Northern Divers sought shelter in Holyhead Bay, nine were off Porth Ysgaden and another two off the Little Orme. Whooper Swans at RSPB Conwy and on Llanrwstfloodwater and a Common Scoter on Abergele’s Pentre Mawr lake were all unusual.

A Scaup remains on Parc Eirias boating lake, not deterred by last week’s fireworks, and the Great Grey Shrike continues its stay at Llyn Du near Porthmadog.

Continued ...

Number of Puffin pairs plummets on Shetland

The numbers breeding there have halved from around 20,000 to 10,000

PAVAN AMARA

Friday 17 July 2015

The number of puffins breeding on Shetland has halved over nearly three decades, according to a recently published long-term study.

Researchers analysed a large puffin colony on Fair Isle, which lies halfway between mainland Shetland and the Orkney islands. They found the numbers breeding there have halved from around 20,000 to 10,000 individuals, with the most likely cause being that the Fair Isle’s young birds were failing to return to it. Experts say this could be because of a lack of fish to feed on.

Dr Will Miles of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory said: “It may be due to declining local fish stocks and poor feeding conditions for seabirds in Shetland waters.”“It is very difficult to find out exactly what happens to immature puffins after they have fledged because of the vast sea areas and the problems of tracing them within other colonies.”

Continued ...

Number of Puffin pairs plummets on Shetland

The number of puffins breeding on Shetland has halved over nearly three decades, according to a recently published long-term study.

Researchers analysed a large puffin colony on Fair Isle, which lies halfway between mainland Shetland and the Orkney islands. They found the numbers breeding there have halved from around 20,000 to 10,000 individuals, with the most likely cause being that the Fair Isle’s young birds were failing to return to it. Experts say this could be because of a lack of fish to feed on.

Dr Will Miles of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory said: “It may be due to declining local fish stocks and poor feeding conditions for seabirds in Shetland waters.”“It is very difficult to find out exactly what happens to immature puffins after they have fledged because of the vast sea areas and the problems of tracing them within other colonies.”

Continued ...

Save our sparrows - your help neded to help vanishing species

RSPB Scotland and researchers at the University of Glasgow are looking for volunteers to help solve the mystery of the vanishing speuggies.

House sparrows were once a common sight throughout the greater Glasgow area, including Milngavie, Bearsden, Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs, but numbers are estimated to have dropped by a staggering 90 per cent since the 1970s.

Now, volunteers are needed to help track down the remaining birds, and discover more about where they’re living.

RSPB Scotland’s Toby Wilson said: “House sparrow numbers have been nose-diving across the UK in recent years, and Glasgow is following the trend.

“But parts of the city are still strongholds for these boisterous little birds, and we need help from the public to find them.

Read on

Project hoping to end alarming decline of bobwhite quail

Date:

March 12, 2014

Source:

Texas A&M University

Summary:

The bobwhite quail, a favorite among hunters and wildlife enthusiasts alike throughout the United States, has literally flown the coop -- its numbers have been decreasing alarmingly for decades, but a groundbreaking project could prove to be a big move toward understanding bobwhite population trends.

The iconic bobwhite quail, a favorite among hunters and wildlife enthusiasts alike throughout the United States, has literally flown the coop – its numbers have been decreasing alarmingly for decades, but a groundbreaking project led by a team of Texas A&M University researchers could prove to be a big move toward understanding historic and future bobwhite population trends.

Continued

'Action needed' after wading bird populations suffer decline

THE populations of four out of five wading birds on Scotland's farms have declined significantly over the past decade, a report has found.

Curlews, lapwings, oystercatchers and redshank have all decreased in numbers, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) found. However, the number of farmland seed-eating birds, such as linnets, skylarks, tree sparrows and yellowhammers, all rose.

Farmland birds in Scotland and further afield have been decreasing since the 1950s, with major declines in the 1970s and into the 1980s.

More intensive farming, climate change and changes in the areas where Scotland's farmland birds spend the winter have all contributed to the fall in numbers, according to SNH.

Susan Davies, the agency's director of policy and advice, said: "Many of our waders are struggling and that action needs to be taken.

"It's not all bad news though, and it's heartening to see some of Scotland's farmland birds increasing. The hard work by farmers and volunteers can pay dividends in helping wildlife.

Read further

Concern over plunge in Dunnet Head guillemot numbers

Written byGordon Calder

THE number of common guillemots at Dunnet Head has fallen by 45 per cent in the past 13 years.

That is the dramatic finding in a count which has been conducted by RSPB Scotland. It shows the number of gulliemots on the cliffs at Dunnet has dropped from 8,980 to just 4,880 since 2000 – a reduction of 45 per cent

Other species such as razorbills, puffins and kittiwakes are also struggling to cope with increasing challenges, including a lack of food and the effects of climate change.

The end-of-season counts which were carried out by the RSPB reveal similar drops in places such as Orkney and Ailsa Craig in the outer Firth of Clyde.

Common gulliemot numbers at Noup Cliffs in Orkney have gone down by 41 per cent while the figure at Ailsa Craig shows a decline of more than 27 per cent.

The downward trend has led to the RSPB warning some of Scotland’s seabird colonies could become extinct unless action is taken. The charity has called on the Scottish Government to act to protect the birds.

It argues that species like common guillemots, razorbills and puffins are struggling to find sand eels as they move northwards due to the effects of climate change.

"They are facing increasing challenges including a lack of food and the effects of climate change, leaving Scotland’s once bustling seabird ‘cities’ in danger of falling silent," said Allan Whyte, the marine policy officer at RSPB Scotland.

Continued

Fewer Puffins Return to Maine, Indicating Greater Issues at Hand

Puffins have once again returned to several Maine islands and, unlike last year, are finding plenty of food for their young chicks, though scientists are not necessarily taking that as a good sign.

Young puffins died at an alarming rate last summer as a result of a herring shortage, which in turn led adults to try to feed their offspring fish that were too big to swallow: some chicks were found dead surrounded by piles of uneaten fish, according to the Associated Press.

However, despite the plentitude of food, researchers are still worrying over the bird's welfare given that their numbers seem to be dwindling, as seen in the fact that roughly a third of the burrows at the nation's two largest colonies are unoccupied, according to Steve Kress, director of theNational Audobon Society's seabird restoration program and professor at Cornell University.

Read on

Terrible year for white storks in Czech Republic as cold weather kills a generation

Very few storks fledged in 2013 - If any

July 2013. White storks suffered their worst breeding year on record in the Czech Republic, as the cold weather put paid to nearly a whole generation. Almost all of the chicks that did hatch didn't survive the severe weather which prevailed in Bohemia just as the birds were nesting.

Czech conservationists monitor the population of white storks at 285 sites across 25 districts of the Czech Republic annually. In 15 of the monitored districts there were 80 percent fewer chicks than last year and in 10 districts no chicks survived at all! To make matters even worse, it is very unlikely that the few chicks that have survived this far are unlikely to fledge successfully. The final assessment of this calamitous situation with nesting will be carried out in the autumn.

These findings are part of the annual study, undertaken by the Czech Union for Nature Conservation on mapping and protection of white storks. The study covers a wide range of aspects, including ringing, mapping, diet, and their response to climate and human influences.

Interesting discoveries. 

The study found that adult storks will protect their chicks by spreading their wings to protect them from strong sun or heavy rain; interestingly, although storks are considered strict carnivores, some vegetation was found in the stomachs of some of the dead chicks, according to Stanislav Chvapil, senior program supervisor.

Equally important is the fact that the storks preferred nesting spots, such as chimneys, roofs, towers and tall trees, are all gradually declining. In some places, where the natural nests were destroyed, artificial nesting platforms have been erected.

Monitoring nesting and care of the nests of white storks are some of the more than two hundred projects supported under the National Programme ČSOP biodiversity conservation.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/czech-storks013.html

Bird enthusiasts in East Lancashire asked for help

BIRD enthusiasts from across East Lancashire are being asked to help halt the decline of the UK’s most acrobatic and spectacular birds.

Swallows, swifts and house martins have all decreased in number over the past 30 years because of pesticides killing off insects and building renovations giving them fewer places to nest.

They are on the ‘amber list’ for birds of conservation concern and swifts are on Lancashire Biodiversity Partnership’s ‘long list’ of endangered species in the region.

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire has made efforts to create a habitat for one of the family with its new purpose-built sand martin walls at Brockholes in Samlesbury.

Alan Wright, from the trust, said: “Specialist bird boxes can help to provide homes and give you some wildlife excitement over spring and summer.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10509348.Bird_enthusiasts_in_East_Lancashire_asked_for_help/

Bird population declines in Alberta’s boreal forest

EDMONTON - More than 20 per cent of Alberta’s boreal forest has been directly altered by human activities, leading to a corresponding decrease in terrestrial bird populations, a report released Wednesday reveals.

The study, conducted by the University of Alberta’s Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, explores the relationship between development and the abundance of common bird species in the boreal forest, an ecological zone that represents 58 per cent of the province’s land area and covers a vast expanse of the north, including Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray and the oilsands region.

The report shows that as of 2010, 21 per cent of the boreal forest had been affected by a variety of activities, including agriculture, forestry and energy production, resulting in bird populations 80 per cent of what would be expected if there was no development.


Continued: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Bird+population+declines+Alberta+boreal+forest/7298822/story.html