Everywhere I go there seem to be male house sparrows chirping away trying to attract a female. We have had one chirping on our roof in Leicestershire for weeks. I recently went to Cornwall and there was one where I was staying and last weekend I was in Northumberland and there was one there too.
A decline generally ...
www.countryfile.com/.../big-garden-birdwatch-2023-results
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
I am not keen on RSPB keep using very wide date ranges when proving population declines. I can understand why.....to maximise the impact etc. But, sparrows will never get back to 1980 levels, much like most formerly very common farmland species. Habitat changes and human population growth, plus increased predators, disturbance, home improvements etc.
For sparrows, a better date range would be from about 2000 onwards.
interestingly, I've noticed fewer female sparrows here too. I would add though that male house sparrows chirping is mostly not to attract a mate. They definitely generate noise with or without a mate.