More than 70% of the sparrows have disappeared in the capital since the early 2000s, according to the League for the Protection of Birds. So, the LPO and the City of Paris decided to distribute nesting boxes to help them, Saturday, December 4. “Quartiers moineaux” is the name of the experiment carried out on three sites in Paris.
– Pierre Pillet
Frédéric Jarry, environmental advisor at Maison Paris Nature, presents this small wooden box: “We raise the facade, and we see that there are three lodges, so there can be three families of sparrows.“The birds access it through a small hole and settle there two to three weeks, from mating to hatching of eggs.
Étienne, a local resident, leaves with his nest box under his arm: “It’s sparrow housing (laughs), I’m going to put it on my balcony. They like the seeds, maybe we will put some for them, but the idea is to provide them with a habitat and not to make them pets.“, considers this father.
– Pierre Pillet
Residents called to share their observations
Frédéric Jarry gives advice: for orientation, “we must avoid the West, for bad weather, and the North.“He therefore proposes to place the nest box”to the South, South-East, if possible under a roof, to avoid the rain.” Regarding the height, “from two, three meters is good, but from the fifth floor it starts to get a little high“, he explains.
About fifteen nesting boxes have been distributed, ditto in the 18th arrondissement, where the same operation took place a little earlier. Others have been placed on public buildings, such as the Château des Rentiers school. The inhabitants are called to detail their observations, in particular on the website of the League for the protection of birds.