Adapted year-round feeding

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Wild bird feeding area

The adapted year-round feeding is a measure recommended by some ornithologists to stop songbirds from dying . The recommendation does not apply to the feeding of waterfowl , which only need to be provided with species-appropriate feed on land in frozen waters. Even birds of prey should be fed only by qualified personnel.

history

In the past, agricultural activities ( three-field farming ) with their anthropogenic food sources and wild herb stocks led to the immigration of most bird species to Germany. With the increasing decline of traditional agriculture from the 1950s onwards, all bird populations decreased noticeably.

The ornithological station in Radolfzell on Lake Constance (part of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology ) registered that 35 percent of the 110 breeding bird species have either completely disappeared or are only breeding irregularly. Another 20 percent decreased in their population, only 10 percent showed an increase in the population or had relocated. The main reasons for the decline are not only the lack of nesting opportunities and habitats, but above all the enormous decrease in the food base. The food bases are insufficient not only in winter, but also at other times of the year.

Worldwide, bird species are dying out faster than expected, as US researchers found, not every four years a bird species, as originally determined in projections, but rather the loss of a bird species every year.

The species affected by declines include former "commonplace" species such as house and tree sparrows , starlings , skylarks , barn swallows and the great tit . The sparrow suffered a decline of more than 50 percent in England. The picture is similar in Germany.

They are also threatened by global warming, as songbirds start breeding earlier and migrating species return to their traditional summer territories earlier. A chronic lack of insects and cold spells can then lead to brood losses.

For these reasons, the ornithologist Peter Berthold , formerly head of the Radolfzell Ornithological Center , and the Heinz Sielmann Foundation advocate a species-appropriate, adapted year-round feeding, which can be carried out by bird lovers on balconies in the city as well as in gardens. It only replaces a small part of the food the songbirds used to find in our fields.

Results of British observations

Bird feeding, which is common in gardens in England, has been examined by the British Trust for Ornithology in a special "Garden Bird Feeding Survey" since 1970/71 and also monitored by over 17,000 employees in a "Garden Bird Watch Program" and delivered the following results:

  • Songbirds do not become dependent on feeding places. Colon irrigation that is harmless for songbirds shows that they look for insects, if available, even in severe winters. A year-round safe food source will protect them from starvation in the cold season and may cause them to breed again in the summer, which would increase their populations.
  • Any natural selection is not influenced by additional feeding. In principle, natural selection is a man-made selection, because it is the human being who deprives animals of their livelihood. Wherever it was possible to provide sufficiently large areas with forage plants, the birds were only dependent on feeding places when it was very cold and would otherwise not go to them.
  • Feeding times. It is an advantage to start winter feeding as early as September, as this is the time when adult and young birds can find their food sources for the winter. It is vital for the birds to know these before the cold sets in. Migratory birds can also be well cared for in this way. They have a phenomenal local memory and can strengthen themselves at fixed feeding places before their flight to the south and after their return during cold spells in spring.
  • Not just dominant species. More than 150 bird species appeared at well-managed feeding stations in England, and over 70 at the feeding stations of the Radolfzell Ornithological Institute, including many endangered species.
  • Dumplings, fat cakes and seeds for nestling feed. Birds do not feed their offspring with the 'wrong' food, but with insects, caterpillars and seeds pre-digested in the crop . If there is a lack of insects, fatty food from a dumpling or fat cake is life-saving for the offspring. Berries as a complete feed, on the other hand, quickly lead to the death of the animals and are therefore not suitable as a sole food even in winter.

What to do with bird diseases at the feeding station

Due to their high body temperature and a good immune system, songbirds are less susceptible to bacterial and viral diseases. Even if the feeding grounds were kept fairly clean there was no danger. They have not yet been affected by the H5N1 bird flu . If a feeding point is infected by pathogens, it is sufficient to brush out the feeding vessels with hot water or, even better, to replace them. After that, the feeding station should be put back into operation immediately so that the birds that rely on it do not get into distress.

criticism

Year-round feeding is rejected by many nature conservation organizations because bird feedings in cities and villages are rarely used by more than 10 to 15 bird species. With the exception of the house sparrow , these species have stable or even growing populations and their existence is not endangered. It does not make any contribution to species protection. Nature conservation associations are therefore calling for the cause of the food shortage for birds to be addressed and for natural habitats to be maintained or created.

There is also a negative representation in What is what .

Insect repellent and nesting facilities for songbirds

In order to complete the supplementary feeding, it makes sense to provide enough nesting places, also for niche breeders , near the feeding places .

Insect protection is also important, for example through leaves, brushwood, dead and waste wood, compost heaps, " insect hotels" and planting wild plants as fodder plants, creeping roses, ivy, clematis, tendrils and hedges and the like. Ä.

British programs: Garden Bird Feeding Survey of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Garden Bird Watch (BTO) together with the feed supplier CJ Wild Bird Foods (on the subject of hygiene), Winter Food for Birds (BTO), Bird Aid Project ( Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ), GBHi (Garden Birds Health Initiative) of the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare and the BTO

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Peter Berthold , Gabriele Mohr: Feeding birds - but correctly. Attract, protect, determine safely . Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, 79 pages, ISBN 3-440-10800-7
  2. ↑ Feeding birds in winter. The NABU provides information and tips on winter feeding. NABU (accessed February 20, 2011)
    see also: Markus Nipkow (March 16, 2007). Nature is not an open-air zoo. NABU rejects all year round feeding of wild birds. NABU (accessed February 20, 2011)
    see also: Markus Nipkow (March 16, 2007). For feeding wild birds. (PDF; 126 kB) NABU (accessed February 23, 2011)
  3. ↑ Feeding in winter , vogelwarte.ch (accessed January 4, 2019)
  4. ↑ Julia Kropfberger ( undated ). Feeding songbirds in winter? if so, then right! ( Memento from October 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Nature Conservation Union Upper Austria (accessed February 20, 2011)
  5. ↑ Axel Mayer ( undated ). Feeding birds in winter: A BUND information. Internet pages of the BUND / Regionalverband Südlicher Oberrhein (accessed February 20, 2011)
  6. ↑ Die Welt : Friederike Gatzke (November 24, 2009). Feeding is of little use to the birds in winter. dpa on Die Welt (accessed February 20, 2011)
  7. ↑ Should you feed birds in winter? Was ist what website (accessed February 24, 2011)
  8. ↑ Reinhard Witt: Wild plants for every garden . blv Verlagsgesellschaft mbh, 2003, 192 pages, ISBN 3-405-14566-X