Akkervogels

Fasan, Rebhuhn und Wachtel haben sich rar gemacht in Feld und Flur der Gemeinde Ganderkesee. „Den Hühnervögeln fehlt Nahrung und Deckung“, erklärt der Vorsitzende des Hegerings Ganderkesee, Jan-Bernd Meyerholz. Rebhuhn und Wachtel bevölkern seit Urzeiten die Naturräume in Mitteleuropa. Die intensive Nutzung der Landschaft in den letzten Jahrzehnten hat sie hierzulande nahezu unsichtbar gemacht. „Rebhühner kann man noch beobachten, manchmal in Fünfer- oder Sechserketten“, weiß der Hegeringleiter.

In weiten Teilen Deutschlands ist die Insektenpopulation um bis zu 80 Prozent eingebrochen. Vor allem Wildbienen, Hummeln, Schwedfliegen sowie den Tag- und Nachtfaltern drohe das schleichende Aus, mahnt Thomas Mitschke. „Allein die Rote Liste der Bienen umfasst 300 Arten.“ Der Vorsitzende des Naturschutzbundes Lüneburg ist Hummel-, Wespen- und Hornissenbeauftragter für Stadt und Landkreis Lüneburg.

Many birders and bird-watchers in western and central Nebraska have noticed the unfortunate absence in recent years of a distinctive, entertaining and familiar bird species, the black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia). In the late 1990s, black-billed magpies were found over most of the state, except the extreme east and southeast. They occurred as far east as western Lancaster and Saunders counties during that time. In other areas, especially the west, magpies were fairly common and could be reliably seen with little effort. Since about 2000, black-billed magpies have declined sharply.

Farmland covers 45% of the EU’s land area and these habitats are rocketing towards biodiversity oblivion. We cannot afford to mince our words here, the situation is very serious and requires both monitoring and action. The European Bird Census Council (EBCC), where many BirdLife partners play a key role, has been coordinating the collation of data on more than 160 common bird species across 28 European countries. The data collected is fundamental to understanding the future of European biodiversity – and the forecasts are alarming.

Agricultural intensification is an important anthropogenic perturbation of the environment. It is characterized by a specialization of the production process, which results in a switch from diverse plantations to large monocultures. Agricultural intensification is also associated with increased use of pesticides, harvest frequency, and density of plantations in cultivated areas. This type of practice is linked to the population decline of several bird species in Europe and North America.

The population of Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) in North-Rhine – Westphalia (NRW) has declined severely. Since the 1960s the species has lost an estimated 80% of its population, and from 2009-2014 the population has decreased by 40% resulting in a current population of a merely c. 12,000 pairs. Areas above 150m asl have been abandoned almost completely. The main reason for the severe declines lies in the agricultural intensification. This led to the loss of the original breeding sites until 1900. The secondary breeding sites, i.e.

Die Bestandsentwicklung des Kiebitzes ist in Nordrhein-Westfalen stark rückläufig. Schätzungsweise hat der Kiebitz (Vanellus vanellus) seit den 1960er Jahren 80 % des Bestandes eingebüßt, gesichert sind Verluste von 40 % zwischen 2009 und 2014, so dass der aktuelle Brutbestand nur noch ca. 12.000 Paare umfasst. Regionen in Höhen von mehr als 150 m ü. NN sind mittlerweile fast vollständig vom Kiebitz geräumt worden. Der Hauptgrund für die starken Rückgänge ist in der Intensivierung der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion zu sehen.

Daily records of bird observations were obtained from the Wild Bird Society of Japan bird sanctuary at Lake Utonai, Hokkaido, from 1982 to 2002. We analysed the daily records of four species thought to be experiencing declines: Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus, Black-browed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps, Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata and Yellow-breasted Bunting E. aureola.

The current distribution and recent population trends of the Great Bustard ( Otis tarda ) in Iran were investigated based on a literature review and unpublished data (1995–2008) followed by three years of census (2009–2011) in areas where the species is still breeding. Results suggest that Great Bustards have disappeared from a large part of their former distribution in the country, including East Azarbayjan, Hamedan and Kurdistan provinces. The surviving groups are concentrated in West Azarbayjan where numbers are rapidly declining.