The All-Russian campaign "Sparrows on the bushes" has started, which will last until March 10. It is aimed at the conservation of these birds. Participants need to find and count the number of sparrows encountered during the walk and send the information to the organizers.
"Our event teaches responsibility and once again draws attention to the fact that even the most ordinary species of living organisms can become vulnerable in a short time, or even completely disappear due to cowardice and negligent human actions," the message on the campaign's website says.
At this stage, according to the organizers, it is necessary to solve a number of tasks. This is the collection of observations and the organization of regular research, the maintenance of a database of collected data together with scientists and the correct storage of information about sparrows for further scientific processing. In addition, the organizers of the campaign continue to form a team of specialists and nature lovers.
Anyone who wants to join the event needs to find and count the number of sparrows encountered during the walk.
"Do not forget to take a photo or video with sparrows at least on your smartphone to confirm the authenticity of the observations. Be sure to pay attention and remember if there are functioning feeders somewhere near the birds, dense bushes in which birds have accumulated, or other shelter options (niches in the walls of buildings, open lawns). Describe it in your own words when filling out the observation questionnaire. Make your observations on the site before March 12," the message says.
It is necessary to indicate how many individuals were encountered, if possible, to determine the species (field, house, etc.).
According to the organizers of the action, experts all over the world note a rapid decrease in the number of sparrows.
"Next to a human, sparrows have nothing to eat, nowhere to hide and bring out their chicks. Humans aggressively take over the territory, displacing animals from their natural habitats. Sparrows have easily adapted to life next to humans. The neighborhood turned out to be mutually beneficial: sparrows feed their chicks with insects, helping to protect crops from pests and, until recently, easily found shelter, warmth and food near human homes. But in recent decades, the number of sparrows has begun to decline sharply," the report says.
According to experts, there are many reasons for this trend. Among them are the absence of niches in modern houses, in which birds used to shelter from the weather and hatch their chicks, lawn mowing, which does not allow seeds to ripen to feed adults.
"Treating plants with toxic chemicals from pests reduces the chances of successfully breeding chicks due to lack of food. The population of the house sparrow is particularly affected, the number of which has decreased catastrophically in many of the surveyed regions," the report says.
According to experts, studying the problem on the basis of regularly received information will make it possible to take effective measures in time and not put mass species at risk of extinction.
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