Like most collaborative projects, it all started with a simple conversation. Before long, Dr Ross MacLeod of the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health, and Comparative Medicine (IBAHCM) and Dr Kat Jones of RSPB Scotland had a team of students and volunteers investigating Glasgow’s disappearing house sparrows.
The foundations of the project were to understand the difficulties of conservation engagement for protecting urban species. A clear candidate species for this work was the humble house sparrow, a species that has seen drastic declines across its natural range—a 70% decline across the UK alone—with urban centres some of the hardest hit. This has meant local extinctions in London; here in Glasgow, 98% of our house sparrows have disappeared since 1969. And while Scotland as a whole has seen some recent population gains, this loss means that sparrows are still significantly below their normal threshold.
To bring all of this into focus, the Glasgow House Sparrow Project was formed! As a collaborative team, the project would be able to conduct strong analytical studies while also engaging the public about house sparrow conservation initiatives that are informed by the research.
The first step was to identify colonies to see how widespread the house sparrows still are across the city. Covering all of Glasgow is logistically difficult for a small team, so volunteers were recruited to conduct surveys in their own neighbourhoods. This gave the project the ability to reach colonies in all areas of the city.
In the first two years of surveying, our volunteers recorded 121 colonies across greater Glasgow. For each sparrow sighting, they collect data on sparrow numbers and sexes, nesting activity, feeder availability, and garden composition (what kind of cover is available). One of the most stark findings from the surveyors’ results was how localized each of the colonies are. This means that there are large areas of urban habitat that are no longer suitable for house sparrows.
What is so different about gardens where house sparrows thrive and gardens where they don’t?
Gardens, and how we use them, can have really big impacts on house sparrow populations. The research studies that have been conducted by IBAHCM students have shown that certain conservation measures can be done to help out the sparrows by creating a house sparrow-friendly garden. There is more information about these measures on the Help your sparrows page.
The students have looked at varying aspects of individual conservation measures and garden composition to gain an understanding of how each of these features contribute to urban house sparrow survival. For instance, Chris Field looked at hedge composition during his Masters programme and was able to show that the sparrows were more likely to use hedges that were left untrimmed. This has been able to inform the house sparrow-friendly gardening measures, which encourages garden owners to trim their hedges less often. RSPB Scotland invites people to take the Hedge Pledge over the spring and summer months—a commitment to letting hedges grow a little wilder.
You can find out more about these studies in the Conservation of sparrows section and in future blog posts on the website.
New Initiatives
Over the past year, the Glasgow House Sparrow Project has had the opportunity to work with the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science to create two new web-apps. These tools created new opportunities to engage the general public about preserving house sparrows in Glasgow.
As part of this, a new game was created that teaches players about creating a house sparrow-friendly garden. The object of the game is to attract sparrows to your garden by providing food, shelter, and nesting opportunities. The health meter is calculated using real-world ecological stressors, including food availability, predator presence, and mate selection. The game, called SparrowQuest, can be downloaded for Android devices from the Google Play store.
The second web-app is a new data collection tool that allows anyone from across the greater Glasgow area to record house sparrows they have spotted anywhere in the city. This easy-to-use tool uses the same record forms used by our survey volunteers, but allows people in the community to participate at whatever level they choose.
This data collection tool will give the project the ability to strengthen statistical models and conduct more robust research. With more data on house sparrow numbers, colony locations, and garden composition, the Glasgow House Sparrow Project will be able to better understand what it is about a garden that allows house sparrows thrive.