Ten years after a revealing survey found a black hole for house sparrows in London, East Enders are being called upon to repeat the study.
A partnership of London conservation groups is behind the Cockney Sparrow Count. Everyone is welcome to take part and you don’t have to be a bird expert.
The RSPB hopes map house sparrow colonies and the gaps where there are no colonies. There is a simple online form, which can be completed during the survey period, which starts on Monday and runs until Thursday, July 12.
House Sparrow Champion, Eleanor Reast said: “London used to be so sparrow-rich the birds had their own rhyming slang of bow and arrow.
“Their numbers are now dwindling in our gardens and parks. We need to know where they are and where they aren’t to ensure we target resources where most needed.”
House sparrow numbers have dropped dramatically over the past couple of decades and the last survey, conducted in 2002, found they were virtually extinct in central London.
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