Tree Sparrow success at Flixton

It was hoped that the new bird boxes put up by the Flixton and Folkton In Bloom group this spring would provide new homes for the local population of Tree Sparrow and results so far are a resounding success. This nationally scarce farmland species features in Scarborough's Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) as there are local hotspots in the Borough which can be helped by supplementary seed feeding stations and additional nest sites.

Five out of nine nest boxes at the new wildlife area on Crook Lane in Flixton have been occupied by nesting tree sparrows within weeks of the boxes going up.  A family of blue tits occupies a sixth box.

Tim Burkinshaw, Project Officer for the Cayton and Flixton Carrs Wetland Project, based at Scarborough Borough Council's Parks and Countryside Services said:
“This is an excellent success rate in the first year and very encouraging.  Tree sparrows are a scarce species and in common with a lot of farmland bird species they have suffered steep declines over the last 30 years or so, but there are doing well here on the Carrs.  These nest boxes make a really valuable contribution to biodiversity in Scarborough."

Schoolchildren at Staxton School helped make the bird boxes for the Flixton and Folkton In Bloom group, which are all numbered and labelled with their names.  Tim added:
"The children should feel really proud that their boxes have been taken to so readily by these special little birds."

In addition to the bird boxes, the In Bloom group has also put up bird feeders in the area, which are proving popular with the tree sparrows as well as other bird species, including the more familiar house sparrows, another LBAP species. Jen Clout, Co-ordinator for the Flixton and Folkton In Bloom group explained that the bird feeders need re-filling several times every week, such is the abundance of seed-eating birds using them.

Local bird recorder, Nick Addey of Scarborough Birders group, commented that tree sparrows are now rare in many parts of the UK, having declined by up to 95% since 1970.  He said:
“The provision of nest boxes in Flixton together with extra food opportunities at the feeders will play a significant part in maintaining the Carrs as the local hotspot for this species."