Going, going…
Group/Individual: Max Nicholson
Location: Kensington Gardens, London
Max Nicholson was born on July 12 1904. He carried out the first complete census of the birds of Kensington Gardens in 1925. At that time he counted 2,603 house sparrows in the area.
He repeated his surveys at regular intervals, In 2000 – aged 96 – his final survey provided a stark picture of the sparrow’s decline as he was able to count only eight sparrows in the same area.
This survey has been used by conservation bodies, especially the BTO and RSPB, as a platform for further nationwide survey work, using the observations of thousands of volunteer birdwatchers. Their findings corroborate Nicholson’s own observations and have shown the steep decline of the house sparrow across the UK.
The dramatic results sparked political interest and the government subsequently provided £175,000 for an 18-month study into the possible causes of the demise of house sparrow and starling populations.
The result of this research pinpointed a number of reasons contributing to the decline, which has informed modern thinking on land management, environmental education and urban pollution controls.
The house sparrow has also been included on the ‘red list’ of species for priority conservation action.