SIR – Where have all the birds gone?

Over the last three years I have walked every inch of the Tong valley and become very aware that bird life to the east of Tong School appears to have almost disappeared.

An array of birds – from chaffinches to black birds, from wrens to long tailed tits have made summers so sweet – but now they appear to have gone.

The only change in the area has been the creation of a football pitch and some extensive drainage work. Has this “moved” the birds on?

To the north the area around Springfield farm boasts hundreds of lapwings and some golden plover, while all year round a sparrow hawk and up to three buzzards patrol the skies. The latter roams all across the valley over Tyersal, Tong and Holme Wood – but for how long?

The truism is, if you build on land in the countryside, you not only destroy animal and bird habitats, but you also ruin the surrounding area for them as they move away from new developments.

If the valley is to shrink further, as proposed by Bradford plan for new houses then the land and air for birds shrinks. It is not long before species disappear forever.

John Harrison, Rushmoor Road, Holme Wood, Bradford