Hi all
Ricki said
"Somebody cited the recent study in the UK which
demonstrated insect declines during critical breeding stages for the House
Sparrow. This may be the cause of the House Sparrow's decline in the UK but it
may not be the same cause here (that's not to say that it may be too, as we
have no studies on this in Australia and who bothers to study declines
in feral birds here?)."
But do we have ANY studies of changing insect
populations either through direct surveys or through examination of bird
diets?
Climate change - or "ordinary" droughts - will
surely (?), together with artificial light, be affecting insect diversity and
abundance. This in turn will affect process like pollination,
predator populations, nutrient recycling....
Incidentally, both House and Tree Sparrow
populations seem to be shrinking here. And we have had an increase from
zero to two pairs of Collared Sparrowhawks breeding .
Michael Norris
Bayside, SE Melbourne
