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y area in summer they are now focused almost exclusively ar
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With all this talk of House Sparrows, I thought I'd mention something I
noticed this summer while in Toronto, then Philadelphia. In both of those
cities, I noticed the House Sparrows were more abundant than starlings
nearly everywhere I went. I could not hypothesize why this would be...
perhaps someone here knows?
-Chris Kennedy in Dartmouth
On Sat, Nov 21, 2015 at 12:15 PM, rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca <
rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
> One thing not mentioned in the discussion Lance was the use of
> road salt. It very effectively wiped out the Hungarian Partridge on PEI.
> They went from plentiful to rare in a few years after salt came into use.
> They would get gravel for grit along the road and pick up salt.
> The same may have happened to House Sparrows also - come to think of
> it rats - the Norway kind - have had an unlamented decline also.
> All 3 species are of the invasive kind. The history of most invasive
> species is
> that they thrive for a time and then die down.
> Enjoy the November rain
> Paul
>
> On November 20, 2015 at 11:26 AM "Laviolette, Lance" <
> lance.laviolette@lmco.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Peter,
>
>
>
> There are undoubtedly a number of factors contributing to the decline of
> House Sparrows. However one factor which has been pointed out by studies =
in
> the UK is a reduction in the abundance of insects for nestlings. Whatever
> the cause in the decline in insect numbers (pesticides, predators, climat=
e
> change, etc.), the hypothesis goes that less insects mean less protein fo=
r
> the young which results in less healthy young fledging from the nest. The=
se
> less fit birds don=E2=80=99t survive very well in harsher, winter conditi=
ons.
>
>
>
> The reason European Starlings are not declining may be attributed to thei=
r
> diet also. From the Birds of North America accounts:
>
>
>
> House Sparrow - Insects and other arthropods during breeding season.
>
> European Starling - Extremely diverse diet that varies geographically,
> with the age of individuals, and with season. Unusual abundances of food
> items=E2=80=A6 garbage, livestock feed, etc. are also exploited.
>
>
>
> The diverse diet of starlings gives them a big edge when trying to surviv=
e
> and fledge healthy young in areas where no one food type is sufficient by
> itself.
>
>
>
> As Paul mentioned, House Sparrows used to be seen closely associated with
> cows and horses and they still are. However most of the large animal
> operations have now been replaced with intensive agricultural crop raisin=
g
> farms. I=E2=80=99d call the resulting corn and soya fields deserts compar=
ed to the
> diversity rich pastures and =E2=80=98wild=E2=80=99 hay fields that used t=
o be common even
> 20 years ago except deserts are much richer in diversity. House Sparrows
> have gone from being abundant and wide-spread to being locally common ove=
r
> that time. In my area in summer they are now focused almost exclusively
> around the few horse stabling operations that we have. In winter they sho=
w
> up at my feeders.
>
>
>
> All the best,
>
>
>
> Lance
>
>
>
> *Lance Laviolette*
>
> Glen Robertson, Ontario
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:
> naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] *On Behalf Of *Hubcove@aol.com
> *Sent:* Thursday, November 19, 2015 5:57 PM
> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> *Subject:* EXTERNAL: [NatureNS] sparrows
>
>
>
> In Halifax today and a friend was wondering why sparrows have virtually
> disappeared in the city. While starlings are obviously flourishing.
> Wondered whether anyone had the answer.
>
> Peter Stow
>
> Hubbards
>
>
>
>
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<div dir=3D"ltr">With all this talk of House Sparrows, I thought I'd me=
ntion something I noticed this summer while in Toronto, then Philadelphia. =
In both of those cities, I noticed the House Sparrows were more abundant th=
an starlings nearly everywhere I went. I could not hypothesize why this wou=
ld be... perhaps someone here knows?<div><br></div><div>-Chris Kennedy in D=
artmouth</div></div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br><div class=3D"gmail_quot=
e">On Sat, Nov 21, 2015 at 12:15 PM, <a href=3D"mailto:rita.paul@ns.sympati=
co.ca">rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca</a> <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailt=
o:rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca" target=3D"_blank">rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca</a=
>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 =
0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><u></u>
=20
=20
=20
=20
<div>
=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">One thing not mentioned in the discussion=
Lance was the use of</span>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">road salt. It very effectively wiped out =
the Hungarian Partridge on PEI.<br></span>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">They went from plentiful to rare in a few=
years after salt came into use.<br></span>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">They would get gravel for grit along the =
road and pick up salt.<br></span>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">The same may have happened to House Sparr=
ows also - come to think of<br></span>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">it rats - the Norway kind - have had an u=
nlamented decline also.</span>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">All 3 species are of the invasive kind. T=
he history of most invasive species is</span>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">that they thrive for </span>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">a time and then =C2=A0die down.<br></span=
>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">Enjoy the November rain<br></span>
</div>=20
<div>
<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">Paul=C2=A0<br></span>
</div>=20
<blockquote style=3D"padding-left:10px;margin-left:0px;border-left-color:=
blue;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid" type=3D"cite">
=20
=20
=20
On November 20, 2015 at 11:26 AM &