Seems to be working , I was aware of quite a few sparrows around the grounds , in particular there were lots in the Walk-through aviary in Gorilla Kingdom .
That's really strange. English sparrows seem to be having no problems with their population here in the states, I see them far more regularly than native birds.
The UK population of House Sparrows fell from around 6 million pairs in 1990 to around 2-3 million pairs by 2000 - a pretty significant plunge. They seem to have stabilised now and perhaps to recover a little, but it was pretty scary for a while there, sparrow-wise.
Also down - 66% reduction in numbers since the 1970s, according to the British Trust for Ornithology.
Of course, there are species on the increase - Common Woodpigeons in particular have exploded in recent years and Little Egrets are steadily colonising the UK from the continent.