Invasive animals in your area

Lafone said:
Our Sparrows are struggling here in the UK, with more than 70% of the population gone since the 1970s. It's been a joy to find them breeding in the garden well this year. Though invasive in the US and of course potentially affecting the populations of native birds themselves, I must confess to a moment of sadness to find them considered as 'fun' to shoot.
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I wish we could ship all of our excess sparrows to the UK, but they are more than thriving over here. They’re incredibly vicious little buggers though, as they are absolute bullies at the bird feeder. I’ve had to dispatch some, as they have evicted a nesting pair of bluebirds, threatened a group of house wrens away from a newly-built birdhouse, and worst of all; killed the chicks and destroyed the egged of one of my beloved Tree Swallow families (a species with a fast-falling population here in the States). I do admit that shooting them isn’t quite “fun” (that was a poor choice of words), but it must be done in order to protect our natives.
 
Lafone said:
Our Sparrows are struggling here in the UK, with more than 70% of the population gone since the 1970s. It's been a joy to find them breeding in the garden well this year. Though invasive in the US and of course potentially affecting the populations of native birds themselves, I must confess to a moment of sadness to find them considered as 'fun' to shoot.
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What is the cause of their decline in the UK? They're absolutely everywhere in urban areas of the US. Along with the European Starling, they're my most commonly seen bird species year after year. Even when I was in Kenya, I found them ubiquitous in urban centers.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
What is the cause of their decline in the UK? They're absolutely everywhere in urban areas of the US. Along with the European Starling, they're my most commonly seen bird species year after year. Even when I was in Kenya, I found them ubiquitous in urban centers.

~Thylo
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I mean, they're heavily declining here in the US too, just not quite to the same extent. It's due a lack of insects, which they require to feed their young.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
What is the cause of their decline in the UK? They're absolutely everywhere in urban areas of the US. Along with the European Starling, they're my most commonly seen bird species year after year. Even when I was in Kenya, I found them ubiquitous in urban centers.

~Thylo
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Farming practice which is changing albeit slowly but pesticide use was a large factor over the last 4 decades for starlings and sparrows as well as other native birds. Insect population loss and changes as mentioned above. Urbanisation and the trend move away from hedgerows and lawns as well as the destruction of habitats for housing. Pollutants including in water sources. There have been huge population crashes in both species and birds that were ubiquitous are now endangered.

Conservation efforts targeted locally (as circumstances can be different) pesticide and fertiliser changes, water pollution targeting are all factors in a potential recovery but until this is effective house sparrows (and starlings and other less ‘common’ native birds) remain in danger.

Humans behaved carelessly. Same story for most endangered animals really I guess.
 
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