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Video: Meet the man counting sparrows in Partick as a way to save our city friends

Data from the Partick survey will be used to help arrest a decline in the birds' numbers.

House sparrows were once a common sight across Glasgow, but numbers have plummeted by 90 per cent since the 1970s.

However, one part of the West End is proving to be a stronghold for the noble spuggie.

And one man has been keeping a watch on a thriving colony that inhabits the Peel/Burgh Hall/Stewartville/Lawrence Street areas of Partick.

 Expert: Dr Paul Baker is with the Glasgow Sparrow Study Group.
Expert: Dr Paul Baker is with the Glasgow Sparrow Study Group.

Dr Paul Baker is a member of the Glasgow Sparrow Study Group which includes the British Trust for Ornithology, bird charity RSPB Scotland and the University of Glasgow.

Paul has spent the last three years studying the sparrows of Partick to understand their habits, tastes and what puts them at risk.

"I've been catching the birds since 2014 and so far we have ringed 250 individual birds," said Paul.

"They are quite localised in where they are - and the group that frequents the streets around here don't tend to move very far.

"They go as far as Gardner Street, and the group in Gardner Street maybe goes as far as Stewartville Street, and the group in Stewartville Street might go as far as Lawrence Street.

"Of the 200 plus birds that I've ringed, only about 15 have been seen anywhere else."

He said: "Sparrows have probably been declining in Britain since the 1900s.

"At that point there were lot of horses that were used for transport.

"There were still lots of horse-drawn carts in Glasgow up until the 1930s.

"Obviously all the horses had nosebags and that was a huge source of food for the sparrows, who picked the oats off the floor.

"But then came the motor car, followed by improvements in houses which reduced the number of nest sites for birds.

"Also changes in farming practice in the west of Scotland from hay to silage means there aren't wild flowers making lots of seeds for the birds to feed on.

 Scales: The sparrows are individually weighed to monitor their health.
Scales: The sparrows are individually weighed to monitor their health.

"Even the city birds would migrate into the countryside in the autumn - so obviously that source of food has ceased for the birds.

"People are also using pesticides - in their gardens as well as the farmers - and that's reducing the insects that are around.

"And now everyone likes a tidy garden - and biologically grass doesn't have the same attraction as a nice willow tree which produces lots of sap and lots of insects.

"And changes in our climate - man-made or otherwise - have had an impact. If the birds are nesting on the first of April, but there's no caterpillars until the middle of April then there's no caterpillars for the young to eat."

Paul and his colleagues ring the birds by catching them safely in special nets.

He often gets up early - with the sparrows! - to carry out his studies, which includes weighing the birds.

Ringed birds that have been previously caught and weighed allow him to monitor how they have changed over time.

The hope is the data will allow experts to better manage sparrow habitats and promote ways of boosting their numbers.

Watch: Dr Paul Baker talks about his research in the West End.

One such way is the hedge-pledge being promoted by RSPB Scotland.

The charity is calling on gardeners in Glasgow to put down their shears and let hedges grown thicker and bushier this summer.

RSPB Scotland’s Sarah-Jayne Forster said: “It also seems that the best types of hedges are ones that aren’t cut very often, which leaves the structure more open, and gives the birds a chance to move around and hide from predators.

"That’s why we’re asking gardeners in Glasgow to take the hedge-pledge this summer, and avoid cutting their hedges at all between March and the end of August.

"It’s a really simple thing that everyone can do to help their local sparrows.

“This is the time when most of our garden birds are nesting anyway, and as it’s an offence to disturb or destroy an active bird’s nest, hedge-cutting really is an activity that’s best left for autumn and winter.”

* Anyone who sees a ringed sparrow or just wants to get in touch can do so through facebook, Twitter @particksparrow1 or email. If you’d like to get involved with RSPB Scotland’s house sparrow project in Glasgow, or find out more about what you could do in your own garden, please contact Sarah-Jayne Forster, on Sarah-Jayne.Forster@rspb.org.uk or ring 0141 331 0993. You can also contact RSPB Glasgow Facebook page or Twitter @RSPBGlasgow and use #hedgepledge.

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