House Sparrow - Passer domesticus
Content from Priority Species Notes, Results & Discussion 2018-2019 - Bromley Biodiversity Partnership Habitats & Species Sub-Group
House sparrows are resident throughout the UK, living in groups often first noticed by their noisy cheeping. They live for 3-4 years (occasionally for much longer), mate for life and often return to the same nest site every year, building nests quite close together of dry grass lined with feathers and hair in holes, crevices or hedges. They will also use nestboxes. Between April and August each pair may lay 2-3 clutches of 2-5 eggs. The young are fed on invertebrates, including aphids, caterpillars, beetles and grasshoppers. When these are scarce, seeds and vegetable matter are also given, but the adults rarely travel more than 60-80 metres from the nest site. Young birds leave the nest after 14-16 days, but the parents continue to feed them until they are fully independent at about 4 weeks. They then often form small flocks. Adult birds are mainly seed eaters but they also eat insects. According to the RSPB, UK house sparrow numbers fell 71% between 1977-2008. In urban areas experiments have shown that lack of invertebrates for birds in the nest is one factor, but although providing supplementary mealworms improved the numbers of fledging birds, the numbers surviving to breed the following year only showed marginal improvements even when seeds were supplied. Research is ongoing, with a reduction in colony numbers noted to coincide with areas where air pollution from vehicle emissions is high.
Threats to House Sparrow
• Reduction in invertebrates for developing young.
• Loss of habitat for both adult birds (loss of long grass providing seeds) and for invertebrates which provide food for young (loss of *native hedgerow and tree species).
• Reduction in availability of ‘weed’ seeds due to herbicide use and frequently mown turf.
• Loss of nesting sites: reduction of scrub & hedgerows, over-trimming of hedges, tidying up. Improved house insulation – loss of nesting opportunities in eaves etc.
• Air pollution
In 2018 55 records were submitted from many parts of the borough of which a total of 7 reported that they had started seeing house sparrows again following a gap when none had been seen for a number of years. 1 resident from Beckenham stated that 2018 was the first time she had seen them since moving into her current house 14 years ago, another reported, ‘1st time in years’. Residents from West Wickham recorded ‘the first siting for 10 years’, ‘the first for a very long time’ and ‘Yes they are coming back’. A population in Leaves Green, Biggin Hill has grown to over 30. Records included 23 from West Wickham – thanks, in part, to an article in the residents association newsletter in 2018, but there were also 6 from Orpington, 5 from Beckenham and records from Penge East Station, Petts Wood, South Norwood, Norman Park, St. Paul’s Cray, Downe, Hayes, Coney Hall, Chislehurst, Elmstead, Gravel Road, Lovibonds Ave., Crown Lane, near Hoblingwell Wood and near Sundridge Park. In 2019 short articles which included asking for records of house sparrow in the London Borough of Bromley, were submitted to Friends of Willett’s Recreation Ground, Friends of Pratt’s Bottom, Friends of Whitehall Recreation Ground and Bromley RSPB. Reports requesting help with collecting records were also sent to Friends of Jubilee Country Park and Friends of Darrick and Newstead Woods. A further 34 records were submitted in 2019. Additional areas where house sparrow was recorded included Farnborough and several places around the outskirts of Bromley town centre. It is likely that improved publicity for the survey might elicit records for other parts of the borough. However, as we have received a reasonable number of records fairly well distributed throughout the borough and there is evidence of them returning to some areas, this survey will be discontinued. We will continue to promote measures that will help house sparrows in Bromley (see below).
Measures to help House Sparrow in Bromley
• Increased planting of *native species; shrubs, trees and other plants to increase invertebrate numbers, e.g planting of *native species rich hedgerows, planting/encouraging the growth of native species in gardens.
• More and larger *wild areas in local parks, school and sports grounds and gardens, including long grass, to provide invertebrates and seeds.
• Maintain some areas of scrub and manage climbing plants to provide multiple nesting sites.
• Provide nest boxes: note the entrance hole needs to have a slightly wider diameter than that of blue tits – i.e 32 mm rather than 30mm. For instructions to make and site sparrow boxes (you need more than one as they live in colonies), see www.bto.org/sites/default/files/house_sparrow_nest_box_plan.pdf
• Link wild areas via thick hedgerows, scrub and/or rough grassland.
• Decrease pesticide and herbicide use and encourage others to do the same.
• Feed birds in your garden. If you know you have sparrows nearby, put out seeds and suet balls for adult birds, mealworms during the nesting season. They will feed on the ground or from a table.
• If you have a cat, keep it indoors between dusk and dawn and use a collar with a bell or ultrasonic device. * More invertebrates in the UK are adapted to feed on native plants than non-native plants so these are more valuable for wildlife.
Reference, and to find out more, see RSPB website at www.rspb.org.uk
Bromley Biodiversity Partnership Species & Habitats Subgroup - January 2020
Bullfinches in Bromley
Bullfinch are resident in the UK and are found in woodland, scrub and orchards. They are sometimes seen in gardens especially those connected to a patch of thick scrub or woodland by thick hedgerows. UK bullfinches tend not to move more than a few kilometres during their lifetime and form strong, lasting pair bonds so they are often seen in pairs throughout the year. Adults feed on berries and seeds such as dock, nettle, ash, birch and bramble. They also eat buds in spring which has led to their persecution in the past. They nest in thick scrub, dense hedgerows and scrubby woodland 1-2 metres above ground. The nest is a loose structure of twigs, lichens and moss, lined with hair and fine roots. 4-5 eggs are laid in April/May, then incubated for 12-14 days by the female who is fed by the male during this time. When the eggs hatch both parents feed the chicks on insects. Young fledge at 12-18 days and the adults often have a second brood. In winter residents can be joined by the slightly larger relatives from northern Europe. Records for Bromley borough in 2017 were all from rural areas or near to parks which included areas of woodland and scrub. These included Lilly’s Wood, the Cudham and Downe Valleys, Darrick Wood, Keston, Jubilee Country Park, Scadbury Park, a garden adjacent to Chislehurst and Walden Recreation Grounds, near Crofton Woods/Parkfield Recreation Ground and in South Norwood Country Park. The bullfinch survey will continue and it is hoped there will be further records particularly from the Elmstead Woods/Sundridge Park area, Monks Orchard/Park Langley area and along the Rivers Ravensbourne and Cray.
Threats to bullfinch
· Loss of nesting sites: reduction of scrub & hedgerows, over-trimming of hedges, tidying up
· Reduction in numbers of insects for developing young.
· Loss of seeds and berries due to loss of hedgerows, scrub and too frequent hedgerow trimming.
· Reduction in availability of ‘weed’ seeds eaten by adult birds due to loss of rough grassland and herbicide use (tidying up again).
According to the British Trust for Ornithology breeding bullfinch numbers fell by more than 50% 1970- 2000 (BTO). UK numbers have been slowly improving, but there are few records for Bromley. Those received in 2017 are mainly from rural or semi-rural areas or adjacent to open spaces with hedgerows and scrub. Further records are needed, so surveying will continue in 2018, but some measures can be put in place.
Measures to help Bullfinch in Bromley
1. To increase nesting sites and improve numbers of seeds and insects for adult and young bullfinches, promote wild areas in your local park, school and sports grounds and garden, plant hedgerows of native species and maintain some areas of bramble scrub. Native plants generally support more insects than non-native species.
2. Link wild areas via thick hedgerows.
3. Decrease pesticide and herbicide use and encourage others to do the same.
4. Feed birds in your garden.
5. If you have a cat, keep it indoors between dusk and dawn and use a collar with a bell or ultrasonic device.
6. Send your records to bromleybiodiversity@gmail.com
Toads are in trouble!
Common Toad Bufo bufo
Common toads spend the winter lying dormant in places such as compost heaps, beneath log piles or in crevices in walls, sometimes coming out to forage for invertebrates. They are generally nocturnal and emerge from ‘hibernation’ on damp, mild nights when the temperature is above 5 degrees Centigrade. In the Bromley area this is typically in February but will vary from year to year. When they are mature enough to breed (2-3 years old) they return to the pond where they were originally spawned. Males often start to move first and will wait around the pond for females to arrive and then climb on their backs. When they are returning to ponds many are killed on roads. Toadspawn is laid in long ribbons around pond plants in deeper water than frogspawn. Toadlets leave ponds in large numbers over a few days in summer. Toads spend most of their lives on land, living in scrub, woodland, beneath hedgerows or in coarse grassland feeding at night on insects, worms, slugs and other invertebrates.
According to Froglife, toad populations in south-east England have fallen by more than 68% since 1986.
Threats to Toads
· Loss of suitable ponds
· Loss of suitable terrestrial habitat (scrub, rough grassland, hedgerows, walls with crevices)
· Habitat fragmentation: death on roads
· A decline invertebrate prey
· Pesticides (indirect effect: decline in invertebrate numbers, direct effect: build up of pesticide within toads from having eaten poisoned invertebrates).
The following measures could help toads in Bromley:
1. Plant more native species in gardens and encourage others including schools and sports grounds to plant hedgerows of native species and leave areas of grass uncut during the summer. This would help to increase prey items available for toads because the invertebrates they eat tend to be adapted to live on native species rather than exotic plants.
2. Decrease pesticide and herbicide use and encourage others to do the same.
3. Have a wild area in your garden or local park with some scrub, a log pile and a pond.
4. When toadlets are emerging from ponds stop cutting or strimming grass in this area for a week or so until they have disappeared.
5. Consider contacting Froglife regarding helping toads cross roads: see www.froglife.org/what-we-do/toads-on-roads
6. Continue to send records to bromleybiodiversity@gmail.com
Note: Some content copyright of Bromley Biodiversity Partnership Habitats & Species Sub-Group
bromleybiodiversity@gmail.com