Homes join campaign to help the sparrow (From Ledbury Reporter)

Homes join campaign to help the sparrow

11:20am Thursday 19th April 2012 in Ledbury

TWO Malvern care homes are bidding to reverse the decline of one of the country’s most recognisable birds by creating a sparrow-friendly gardens.

Residents at Bupa’s Court House and The Springs homes have been receiving expert advice from the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) on how to boost the numbers of sparrows and other wildlife visiting their gardens.

Save the Sparrow is the main focus of Bupa’s annual Wildlife Week, which is taking place between Monday, May 7, and Sunday, May 13.

Community and partnership manager Siobhan Drane said: “Everyone enjoys seeing a cheeky sparrow in gardens, but this much-loved British bird needs our help.

“So we’re asking everyone to join the campaign, either by offering a helping hand to our green-fingered residents or by making their own gardens more bird-friendly.”

Although house sparrows are still seen in many gardens, their numbers have fallen by 55 per cent since the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird watch survey began in 1979.

The decline in numbers has been so steep that the UK house sparrow is now afforded the highest conservation status.

Gabrielle Layzell, project manager for the RSPB, said: “Everyone can help create the habitat that the sparrows need – planting hedges and creepers along fences, cultivating areas of long grass to forage in, offering plenty of water, and growing shrubs that attract insects for sparrows to feed on.

“The list is endless and we want as many people as possible to join in this campaign to help provide the right environment for the sparrow to thrive again.”