Grassland birds

BirdLife Australia data shows that Australian magpies declined by 31 per cent in the East Coast region — including Sydney and Brisbane — between 1998 and 2013. "They declined by roughly 20 per cent in the South East Mainland Region, which includes Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide [for the same period]," Sean Dooley, BirdLife Australia's national public affairs manager, said. The data also reflected a dramatic decline in kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) and birds of prey, suggesting carnivores were potentially more vulnerable to these unknown environmental changes.

A recent study concludes that the birds of Canada and the United States have taken a substantial hit in the last 49 years. Researchers from several institutions in the U.S. and Canada, including the American Bird Conservancy, the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and Environment and Climate Change Canada, joined forces for the study.

Birdwatch Ireland's research has shown that the country has lost half a million waterbirds or almost 40% in less than 20 years. Among species in decline are Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) and Pochard (Aythya ferina). It says that there has been an "almost complete extermination" of farmland birds such as the Corncrake (Crex crex).

Schon 20 Feldvogelarten, darunter Braunkehlchen, Rebhuhn, Kiebitz oder Uferschnepf, sind rund um Kassel nicht mehr zu sehen, da diese Arten bereits ausgestorben sind. „Und um den Neuntöter ist es auch schon schlecht bestellt, ebenso um die Feldlerche, den Vogel des Jahres 2019“, sagen Manfred Henkel und Martin Lange vom Nabu Kaufungen-Lohfelden. Im Landkreis sei ihr Bestand dramatisch gesunken. Die beiden Naturschützer läuten Alarm. Nachdem vor rund einem Jahr das Insektensterben in den Medien ein großes Thema war, sind es nun die Feldvögel.

The North American Bird Conservation Initiative in Canada released the second State of Canada’s Birds report last week. The report, a joint project of Environment Canada and numerous government and conservation organizations, looks at the status of Canada’s bird populations going back to 1970.The study found that shorebirds, grassland birds, and aerial insectivores were in rapid decline across Canada, with numbers down 40, 57, and 59 per cent since 1970.

Cambodia's population of Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) has sharply declined since 2012 according to a recent survey conducted by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Cambodia's Ministry of Environment.

Das Braunkehlchen (Saxicola rubetra) ist ein kleiner Singvogel, knapp so groß wie die allbekannte Kohlmeise. Es bewohnt Hochstaudenflure und feuchtes Grasland mit erhöhten Ansitzwarten. In Sachsen lebten Ende der 1990er Jahre noch etwa 4 000 Braunkehlchen-Brutpaare, aber schon sieben Jahre später hatte sich deren Bestand fast halbiert. Heute ist die Art großflächig verschwunden. Geringe Restvorkommen in Sachsen zeigen auch schon deutliche Inzuchtdepressionen, unteranderem verkrüppelte Füße.

At least 314 species of American birds are expected to lose 50 per cent or more of their range by the end of the century, and have been listed by the Audubon Society as endangered. A United Nations science report says 1 million species of plants and animals are at risk of going extinct. Most at risk are sea birds and grasslands birds, experts say. Birds known as aerial insectivores, like swifts (Apus apus) and nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) , are at risk because the insects they depend on are getting harder to find.

Auch wenn man bei einem Spaziergang durch Kulturlandschaften im Westerwald oft noch den Eindruck hat, dass hier noch vieles besser aussieht als in anderen Regionen, zeigen sich die negativen Auswirkungen einer immer mehr globalisierenden Wirtschaft auch hier deutlich.