European starlings, house sparrows on decline

Now here is a reason to rejoice. I am a lover of nature but don't like these little buggers at all. The starlings don't bother me as much as the house sparrows, but both are a pain and bullies at the feeder.

I found this article on the right hand side bar of my blog. I am a news junkie and get an RSS feed of all popular news articles relating to birds. I wanted to bring this one to your attention as most of us have problems with these little home wreckers!!

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Source: Westford Eagle-Author: Marian Harman

It seems, however, that starlings and house sparrows may now be on the decline. In their recent publication, "Winter Bird Highlights, 2007-08" , Cornell Lab of Ornithology states that reports of starlings in Canada have declined since 1990. Starlings were reported at 65 percent of feeders in 1990, but only at 58% of feeders in 2008. House sparrows were reported at 65 percent of feeders in 1990, and only at 50 percent of feeders in 2008. In the United Kingdom, there has been an even more precipitous decline of house sparrows, which have declined 62% in the last twenty-five years.

In New England, according to Cornell, starlings were reported at 70% of feeders in 1990, and only at 50 percent of feeders in 2000. The average number of starlings at each reporting feeder also declined. House sparrow reports also declined. Sixty percent of feeders reported house sparrows in 1990, while 50% of feeders reported them in 2000. No one is sure why these declines are being seen. It may be that high populations have led to disease and/or loss of habitat for these birds

Go here to read the full article:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/westford/news/lifestyle/columnists/x596328949/European-starlings-house-sparrows-on-decline