La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Supplementary winter feeding for farmland birds (2022)
Auteurs :	Michael Kettlewell, Auteur ; Stephen Edwards, Auteur ; Alan Larkman, Auteur ; Ian Wilkinson, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	British Birds (115(1) January, 2022)
Article en page(s) :	39-48
Résumé :	Farmland birds have declined dramatically since the 1970s and show little sign of recovering. Numerous agri-environment measures, including supplementary feeding, have been advocated but have yet to reverse this trend. We have studied the effect of generous supplementary feeding for farmland arable specialists over three years on three farms. Supplementary food was scattered daily on field margins by hedges or in conjunction with cultivated wild bird seed plots (WBS) from mid November to mid May. Sown seed supplies were rapidly exhausted. Bird numbers nevertheless increased dramatically during winter, before birds dispersed in early spring to breed. We conclude that the application of supplementary winter feeding is both practical and essential, at least at present, to maintain and restore farmland bird populations.

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