It’s nearly Valentine’s Day and love is the air in Victoria Park in Bedminster…for the local house sparrow colony at the Park-keeper’s Lodge.  Children from St Mary Redcliffe Primary School braved chilly winds and snow flurries this morning to put on their sparrow masks and help Avon Wildlife Trust to launch Wild Sparrows, an investigation into why the sparrow is disappearing.

Park Lodge in Victoria Park is home to one of the area’s last large house sparrow colonies. The attractions of the draughty old building, from a sparrow’s perspective, perhaps offer a clue to the reason for the sparrow’s decline: modern housing is believed to be one of the main causes of the problem. Sparrows like to nest close together in roof spaces near the guttering, but modern construction methods and house renovations make this impossible.

The children from St Mary Redcliffe hear the chirping and chattering of the sparrows each day as they pass by the Lodge on their way into school, but the sound would be unfamiliar to many of their peers in Bristol. Years ago, the house sparrow was one of the most commonly seen birds, but it is now is in serious decline. It is on the RSPB’s Red list of threatened species – the highest conservation priority, meaning urgent action is needed to stop the decline in its numbers.  Sparrows are now found in just a few areas in Bristol and the project aims to track down the surviving colonies so they can be protected and helped to increase their numbers.

The charity is eager to demonstrate how lost nesting sites can be replaced with easy-to-build nesting boxes and is encouraging local people to take part in its online survey at www.wildsparrows.org.uk

Avon Wildlife Trust spokesman Steve Micklewright said: "The cheeky, chirpy house sparrow used to be one of our commonest birds, but numbers have dwindled so much they are now a species of conservation concern.  We are keen to find out why numbers are dropping and where they are hanging out - but we need the public’s help. So, as St Valentine’s Day approaches, we’re asking everyone to take part in the online survey we’re running at www.wildsparrows.org.uk and let us know about any house sparrows they see.”

The project has been launched to coincide with Valentine’s as it is around this time that bachelor male house sparrows start trying to charm females into becoming their life-long mate.

Steve explained: "There’s nothing softly-softly about house sparrow courtship.  Males get straight to the point by choosing a perfect love nest then chirping loudly to advertise their find to passing females.  To get the Wild Sparrows project going, we want to gather in reports of this type of behaviour to give us a sense of how many pairs are breeding in this area.”

As the campaign develops, Avon Wildlife Trust will also be helping other communities to create new nesting sites and encouraging local gardeners to plant out insect-attracting flowers, such as nasturtiums, to ensure that sparrow chicks don’t suffer from a shortage of food.

During the school half-term, there will be opportunities for families to build and decorate sparrow nesting boxes as part of the Festival of Feathers events at Avon Wildlife Trust’s two wildlife education centres – Folly Farm, Bishop Sutton, on Tuesday 16 February, and Willsbridge Mill, Willsbridge, on Wednesday 17 February.

For more details, including guidance on how to identify sparrows and join the sparrow survey, see www.wildsparrows.org.uk or contact Avon Wildlife Trust on 0117 917 7270.