Cockney sparrow hunt

A sparrow I spotted yesterday in Camden

From 18 June to 12 July the RSPB is encouraging Londoners to take part in its survey of “Cockney” sparrows.

The oganisation claims the bird is in decline and states “The cockney sparra has lived alongside us for hundreds of years and was once a regular fixture in our London gardens, parks and squares. It was so beloved by Londoners that it was incorporated into cockney rhyming slang – bow and arrow. Sadly, its squabbling chirps are dimmed and there are fewer to feed in our parks.”

What do you have to do?

It’s simple, quick to do, and it’s just as important to tell us if you saw none as it is to let us know you saw lots. It doesn’t have to be done at home, you can do it along any London street or whilst sitting in a green space on a lunch hour at work!

London has lost 68 per cent of its sparrows between 1994 and 2000. The reasons are complex and our research is focusing on ways to halt and reverse that decline.

In the summer of 2002 the RSPB launched the ‘Where have all the sparrows gone’ survey, which asked Londoners to tell them if they had house sparrows in their gardens or local green spaces. Over 10,000 responded, giving valuable information about where they were still to be found, as well as highlighting the plight of this once prolific bird. The results painted a sad picture, with a stark absence of sparrows in the centre of London.

Ten years on the RSPB is launching a repeat of the survey to see how the sparrow is faring and we’re hoping to get even more of you involved this time round! The information you give will help inform conservation efforts to save this iconic London bird. The project is being run in partnership with the London Wildlife Trust and Greenspace information for Greater London (GiGL) as part of the London Biodiversity Partnership.

For more information about the survey, please e-mail: CSC@rspb.org.uk