Laura--
        Many of us would love to see these birds disappear. 120 years ago 
ornithologists were writing large books about how to get rid of them. 
The Bird Act does NOT protect them, or starlings. Yes, I believe their 
numbers are falling, but not nearly fast enough. Here's an account of it 
from my book (free on the Cols Audubon site):
    House Sparrow   Passer domesticus*.  An alien species first released 
by enthusiasts, now a common-abundant resident locally; it was called 
“superabundant” on the OSU campus as early as 1901 (Griggs 43).  Jones 
(1903:221) traced its Ohio origins to 53 pairs set free in Cleveland, 
Warren, and Cincinnati 1869-72.  A specimen was collected in Columbus as 
early as 3/7/1878 (OSUM #1294).  Davie (1898:365) commented on its 
extraordinary adaptability: “[a] nest, which was composed of steel 
turnings of a lathe, was lodged on a beam in the Panhandle shops at 
Columbus. Two broods had been raised in this nest in one season.”  By 
1903 Dawson (p. 42), observing its depredations in the county, indulged 
in some invective: “Of late the choicest rural sites have been 
appropriated, and the cliffs once sacred to the gentle Swallow, now 
resound with the vulgar bletherings and maudlin mirth of this avian blot 
on nature.”  Outside the breeding season it roosts communally in cover 
such as conifers or dense brush, at which time it forms large skittish 
flocks.  As recently as the 1940s Columbus field reports, even from 
parklands, often showed them outnumbering any other species by a factor 
of ten.  Its numbers have waned noticeably (and in parts of its native 
Old World range often precipitously), especially in rural settings, from 
those of former days, with less pasturage and fewer horses in use, 
declining use of haystacks, better refuse management, and perhaps—-one 
dares to hope—-competition from starlings.  Its slow decline has 
continued over recent decades.  The Columbus CBC’s numbers peaked at 
6040 house sparrows on 12/28/1985; tallied recently were 1816 in 2009, 
965 in 2010, 1413 in 2011, 977 in 2013, and 1383 in 2014.
Bill Whan
Columbus

On 3/12/2015 1:55 AM, Laura Peskin wrote:
> Why not hope the raptors come back for a nice, juicy English sparrow treat
> ?  They have to eat too, anyways.  Right after English sparrows were
> introduced into this country, about 100 years ago, they were such farm
> nuisances that people trapped them.  The Migratory Bird Act may have ended
> that. Lately I've noticed English sparrow numbers down and native
> competitor numbers up, but that might just be personal observer bias.
>
> Laura
>
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