Today we are celebrating World Sparrow Day, a time to focus on these wonderful birds and raise awareness of the threats they are under.
There are two species of sparrow that are native to the UK – the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the tree sparrow (Passer montanus). Both species have undergone a huge decline in their numbers over recent years, and as such are both listed on the UK Birds of Conservation Concern Red List. Both species are of similar sizes, the way you can tell the difference between the two is by looking at their head! Tree sparrows will typically have a brown head whereas male house sparrows will have a grey head and females will have a buff-coloured head.
The house sparrow
House sparrows are social birds that have evolved to benefit from living close to humans. They have a varied diet and will eat seeds, fruits, berries, leaf and flower buds, human scraps, and even small invertebrates. They will occasionally visit garden feeders but mainly forage on the ground beneath.
House sparrows will nest in dense vegetation such as hedges, crevices and holes in buildings, and will use nest boxes. House sparrows will often nest close to other breeding pairs. In spring and summer, you may be lucky enough to hear their loud chirping.
The tree sparrow
Tree sparrows inhabit areas of farmland where traditionally they rely on winter stubble, crops, field margins, and hedgerows. They feed mainly on seeds. They nest in farm buildings, in hedges, and will utilise nest boxes.
Loss of habitat and food sources are the main reasons we are seeing a decline in both species of sparrows. Changes in our agricultural practices have led to the removal of winter stubble fields, fewer and narrower field margins, fewer hedgerows, and the increasing use of pesticides. In our urban and suburban areas, the removal of hedgerows, installation of plastic grasses, and improved building maintenance are just a few of the ways we are actively reducing the number of available habitats and food sources.
What can you do to help?
There are a few ways that you can help out our native sparrows:
- Allow a patch of your lawn to grow into a species-rich grassland
- Create a wildflower meadow by sowing native wildflower seed
- Encourage ivy to grow on walls and fences
- Plant a native hedgerow along a fence or wall
- Install a bird box. Sparrows are more likely to favour a nest box with a small entrance.
What are Meadfleet doing to help?
We actively manage the public open spaces on your developments to not only look good, but to encourage wildlife to flourish. As part of our bee-friendly campaign, we have (so far) donated over 600m of native hedgerow and created an additional 15,000 sqm of wildflower meadows which provides additional habitats and foraging areas that benefit both species of sparrows. We also provide bird boxes to our Regional Managers who place them in specific locations, this photo is one our Ecology and Conservation Manager, Paul Cassidy, installed in Cheshire.
About Meadfleet
Meadfleet is a multi-award-winning, carbon neutral management company founded over 25 years ago. Responsible for over 350 developments throughout England and Wales, we take a sustainable approach to open space management. Our Ecology and Conservation team ensure areas are managed to encourage biodiversity and we are partnered with leading insect charity Buglife, to help make the open spaces we care for more pollinator friendly. In 2021 we were awarded first place in the Pollinator category at CIRIA’s BIG Biodiversity Challenge Awards for their Bee Friendly campaign.
Appointed by housebuilders and local authorities and with a portfolio of more than 350 developments, all with a variety of requirements that include full infrastructure, complex sustainable urban drainage systems, biodiverse species habitat, street lighting, grass care, shrubbery, woodlands, wildflower meadows and play equipment, Meadfleet are the professional and sustainable solution to open space management.
Established in 1995, we are specialists in residential open space management and our aim is to protect and enhance these areas long into the future. We are committed to providing an excellent service and continually improving our environmental credentials, demonstrated by certification in BS EN ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management and BS EN ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management.
We are delighted to be a Carbon Neutral Company, the first in our sector to achieve this. As one of the most experienced and trusted open space management companies in the UK, we take our role seriously. We believe taking climate action is important for companies like Meadfleet and the housebuilders and local authorities we work with.
We’ve signed up to the United Nations (UN) Climate Neutral Now initiative, launched in 2015 to increase climate action. We have pledged to measure, reduce and offset our carbon emissions with carbon credits every year. What’s more, we’ve also chosen to obtain carbon offsetting credits, equivalent to more than our estimated total emissions since Meadfleet first began in 1995.
Meadfleet employ experienced regional managers to proactively manage open spaces and respond to customer queries. As voluntary members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme, we offer our customers access to free, independent redress should this be required.
At Meadfleet we’re passionate about keeping open spaces safe and attractive and also believe it’s important to manage and enhance areas for the benefit of wildlife. We run regular customer initiatives such as giveaways of wildlife friendly seeds, bee hotels and bird nesting boxes. Our Bee Friendly campaign was awarded top prize in the pollinator category at CIRIA’s Big Biodiversity Challenge awards.
Meadfleet’s in-house Ecology and Conservation Team is at the centre of our business culture, leading our approach to open space maintenance. With experience in creating and managing a wide variety of habitats we ensure areas are maintained sensitively and appropriately and oversee continual biodiversity improvements. We understand the additional requirements of Biodiversity Net Gain, both in relation to planning and the 30-year covenant. Meadfleet are uniquely placed in the market to provide the management and maintenance skills required to ensure delivery of the ongoing requirements of biodiversity net gain on residential schemes in perpetuity.
We know that a good quality, natural environment will enhance a local neighbourhood, improve well-being and contribute to improved house values.