Don't take our House Sparrows for granted

One of nature's mysteries in recent years has been the near catastrophic decline of the House Sparrow across much of the country with British sparrow numbers thought to be down by around 90 per cent. Various theories ranging from changes in house design, garden insecticides affecting food supplies for their young, magpies and even mobile phones (presumably the radio waves rather than the irritating ring tones!), have all been put forward. Now the decline is being reported in many Continental cities such as Paris and Prague.

Despite this, Audlem still seems well stocked with House Sparrows – while this is being written the garden is full of them. We even have flocks of their country cousins, the Tree Sparrow, in the area. These have become relatively unusual elsewhere for some time but can be seen regularly along the canal towards Adderley.

Last year the area had one of the rarest birds of all time fly in – the Magnificent Frigatebird – found on a pond towards Whitchurch. This would have been a twitcher's finest 'tick' but the bird unfortunately died from exhaustion soon after being taken to Chester Zoo. If, however, the House Sparrows' national decline continues, and Audlem's numbers are maintained, we could become a bird watchers' destination for a much more humble 'tick' – Passer domesticus, the House Sparrow!

There is, by the way, an award of £5,000 by the Independent newspaper for the most convincing reason for the House Sparrows' decline. So what is that keeps them in Audlem while they disappear elsewhere?

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