Spadgers
The humble House Sparrow, once thought of as not really worth the bother of looking at (unless you were James Denis Summers-Smith). Now it is a species that has declined, alarmingly so in some areas. I've been lucky in the part of Banstead where I live, as these characterful birds have hung on, with at least two roosts (of 20-40 birds) within 400m of home. They breed in neighbouring properties and are a frequent visitor to the garden bird bath, as this male from today illustrates. But although I still see them - and in number, each day - my notebooks from down the years does show a decline. Within the ND&B uber patch, my highest counts are of 400 at Beddington SF on 11 July 1980, 200 at Beddington SF on 7 September 1975 and 200 at Seears Park, Cheam on 6 November 1983. These are now at least 30 years old. In recent years my highest counts have come from Canons Farm, with 80 on both 23 August 2014 and 8 September 2016. My highest count anywhere was of 900 at Dungeness on 19...