Farmland birds

L’organisation non-gouvernementale Greenpeace a publié un rapport sur l'impact environnemental des pesticides utilisés par l'agriculture industrielle dans l'Union européenne. Ce rapport compile les données d'environ 250 publications scientifiques. Afin de décrire « l'ampleur de la contamination de notre environnement par les pesticides et ses conséquences dramatiques pour certaines espèces vivantes », l’ING Greenpeace a publié un rapport sur l’impact environnemental des pesticides.

Industrial agriculture, with its heavy use of chemical pesticides, pollutes our water and soil and leads to loss of habitats and biodiversity, according to a Greenpeace report. With almost one in four (24.5%) vulnerable or endangered species in the EU being threatened by agricultural effluents, including the use of pesticides and fertilizers, species survival and crucial ecosystem services, like pollination, are at risk. Political and financial support is urgently needed to shift from chemical-intensive, damaging agricultural methods, to sustainable ecological farming practices. In Europe, a catastrophic decline of insects was signaled by the "IUCN Task Force on Systemic Pesticides" in 2015, after analyzing over 800 scientific reports. The impacts can be devastating, as 70 per cent of the 124 major commodity crops directly used for human consumption like apples and rapeseed are dependent on pollination for enhanced seed, fruit, or vegetable production. Dirk Zimmermann, Ecological Farming Campaigner at Greenpeace Germany said: "Europe's dependency on chemical pesticides is nothing short of an addiction. Crops are routinely doused with a variety of chemicals, usually applied multiple times to single crops throughout the whole growing season. Non-chemical alternatives to pest management are already available to farmers but need the necessary political and financial support to go mainstream."

By 2013, the UK breeding farmland bird index had fallen by 55 per cent to a level less than half that of 1970. Four farmland specialists (grey partridge (Perdix perdix), turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), tree sparrow (Passer montanus) and corn bunting (Miliaria calandra)) have declined by over 85 per cent relative to 1970 levels. In 2013, the UK breeding woodland bird index was 28 per cent lower than its 1970 level. A number of woodland specialists (lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor), lesser redpoll (Acanthis cabaret), spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata), tree pipit (Anthus trivialis), wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix), crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) and marsh tit (Poecile palustris)) have declined by over 70 per cent relative to 1970 levels, with willow tit (Parus montanus) and capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) down by more than 90 per cent. The index for wet grassland birds decreased by 53 per cent since 1975. Redshank (Tringa totanus), snipe (Gallinago gallinago) and yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) have declined, by more than 60 per cent, 80 per cent and 95 per cent, respectively. Seabird populations in the UK have fallen by 24 per cent since 1986; this is the lowest level recorded. Blacklegged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) declined by 72 per cent since 1986 and Arctic skuas (Stercorarius parasiticus) declined by 82 percent.

Farmland is home to hundreds of plant and thousands of animal species, many of which are highly dependent on each other forming a complex food web. This was first revealed by our early work on the grey partridge in Sussex. The population of grey partridge was partially dependent on the survival rate of the chicks, which in turn depended on them sourcing enough protein-rich insects. The insects that were most important to the chicks were largely weed-feeding species, and as a consequence, insect abundance was controlled by the management of the crop, but especially by the levels of herbicide inputs. Thus, herbicides were identified as causing an indirect effect on the number of insects within the crop, but also ultimately on the population of grey partridge. Herbicides also reduce the abundance of vegetation and weed seed that are important food sources for insects, birds and small mammals. The indirect effects of pesticides are now a recognised phenomena and along with direct effects are considered responsible for the decline of many other farmland birds because all of them, with the exception of pigeons and doves, feed their young insects during the first few weeks. Autoecological studies have helped to identify the causes behind the decline of some farmland bird species, such as those conducted on grey partridge, corn bunting and yellowhammer. These revealed a strong relationship between invertebrate food availability during breeding and breeding success and this was consequently linked to population change. The majority of other farmland birds also feed their chicks invertebrates because they provide the necessary protein for growth and the energy to resist chilling.

In response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that the tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) may qualify for federal Endangered Species Act protection. The Center petitioned to protect tricolored blackbirds under both the federal and California Endangered Species Acts after dramatic declines of nesting colonies due to loss of wetlands and native grasslands, shooting, pesticide use and mass destruction of nests through mowing and harvest of crops the birds use for nesting in California. “Tricolored blackbirds once formed massive nesting colonies of millions of birds in California’s Central Valley but are now suffering declines comparable to the extinction trajectory of the passenger pigeon,” said the Center’s Jeff Miller. “Endangered Species Act protection is needed to safeguard their vulnerable breeding colonies, especially since the state of California has inexplicably delayed protection for tricoloreds despite warnings by biologists that we could lose this species entirely.” Comprehensive statewide surveys found only 395,000 tricolored blackbirds in 2008, followed by a decline to 259,000 in 2011 and only 145,000 in 2014 — the smallest population ever recorded.

Sein wissenschaftlicher Name lautet Phasianus Colchicus, er gehört zur Gattung der Hühnervögel und war bereits in der Antike als Ziervogel und wegen seines wohlschmeckenden Fleisches äußerst beliebt. Doch der Anblick von Fasanen wird immer seltener. Auch im Landkreis Osterholz ist der Bestand der Bodenbrüter kontinuierlich zurückgegangen. Die Zählung der Fasanenhähne im Rahmen der Wildtiererfassung in den letzten sechs Jahren zeigt für den Landkreis einen Rückgang von 2,8 Hähnen auf je hundert Hektar auf 2,3 Hähne. Die Zahlen für die Hegeringe 1 (Schwanewede ) und 3 (Neuenkirchen) untermauern diese Tendenz. So wurden 2009 im Hegering 1 noch 2,86 Hähne gezählt. 2013 waren es 1,9, bevor sich der Bestand im letzten Jahr auf 2,46 Hähne pro hundert Hektar stabilisierte. In Neuenkirchen fallen die Zahlen noch deutlicher aus: Von 2,73 Vögeln 2009 fiel der Index 2014 auf 1,16 Fasanenhähne. Da nur wenige verendete erwachsene Tiere gefunden wurden, vermutet man den größten Verlust bei den Jungtieren. Die Fortpflanzungszeit der Fasane beginnt Ende März und ist meist Anfang Juni abgeschlossen. Während erwachsene Tiere hauptsächlich pflanzliche Kost wie Sämereien, Zwiebeln und Wurzeln zu sich nehmen, brauchen die Jungtiere in den ersten vier Wochen viel tierisches Eiweiß, dass sie durch Insekten zu sich nehmen.

Einst war die Feldlerche (Alauda arvensis) ein häufiger Brutvogel der Agrarlandschaft. Doch schon seit vielen Jahren geht ihr Bestand stetig zurück. Diese besorgniserregende Entwicklung war Anlass für die Hessische Gesellschaft für Ornithologie und Naturschutz (HGON), gemeinsam mit dem Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu) den aktuellen Bestand der Feldlerche im Kreis Offenbach ein weiteres Mal zu erfassen. Mitglieder des Arbeitskreises Offenbach der HGON haben die Feldlerchenvorkommen im Kreisgebiet 1998 erstmals kartiert. Insgesamt wurden damals 460 Reviere ermittelt. Das Ergebnis der diesjährigen Erfassung war erschreckend. Mit lediglich 165 Revieren ist der Bestand in den zurückliegenden 17 Jahren um 64 Prozent zurückgegangen. Völlig verschwunden ist die Lerche in diesem Zeitraum aus Sprendlingen, Hainburg und Urberach. Drastische Rückgänge gab es mit rund 90 Prozent in Heusenstamm, 80 Prozent in Seligenstadt sowie je 73 Prozent in Egelsbach und Obertshausen. Im Rodgau, dem Hauptverbreitungsgebiet der Feldlerche im Kreis, ging die Zahl der Paare von 243 auf 81 zurück. Die Feldvögel sind inzwischen die am meisten gefährdete Artengruppe innerhalb der mitteleuropäischen Vogelfauna. Die Zunahme des Maisanbaus und der Einsatz von Pestiziden tragen dazu bei. Große Flächen mit blühendem Raps sind für viele zwar hübsch anzuschauen, stehen Feldlerche und anderen Vögeln der Agrarlandschaft als Brutrevier und zur Nahrungssuche aber nicht zur Verfügung.

Butterflies including gatekeepers, large skippers, small coppers and small tortoiseshells are in severe decline on agricultural land, while breeding farmland bird populations hit their lowest recorded level in England in 2013, having more than halved since 1970. Breeding farmland birds and butterflies are declining in both the long and short term, while woodland birds and butterflies have also seen numbers fall in past decades. In 2013, breeding woodland birds in England reached their lowest recorded level, more than a quarter (28%) below 1970 levels. Butterfly populations have tumbled by almost a half (48%) since 1990.

Farmland bird populations both in Ireland and across Europe are at their lowest levels since records began, new figures from BirdWatch Ireland and BirdLife Europe reveal. The Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme has compiled population figures for 145 common and widespread bird species in 25 European countries between 1980 and 2009. Amongst those species covered, farmland birds are the most threatened group, with 20 out of 36 species in decline, and overall numbers at an all-time low, down by 48% since 1980. Some of the species that have declined the most over the last three decades across Europe include familiar farmland birds like Grey Partridge (–82%), Skylark (–46%), Linnet (–62%) and Corn Bunting (–66%). Ian Burfield, European Science and Data Manager for BirdLife Europe, said: “These shocking new figures confirm that farmland birds have halved in number across Europe since 1980. While the rate of decline may have slowed in recent years, it’s clear that attempts to halt the loss have been insufficient, and that massive efforts are needed to reverse the trend.”