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The potential virtue of garden bird feeders: More birds in citizen backyards close to intensive agricultural landscapes

P. Pierret,F. Jiguet

Published 2018 in Biological Conservation

ABSTRACT

Abstract Farmland bird abundances have been declining for decades, an erosion associated with agricultural changes. Main drivers have already been identified: intensification of practices, modification of landscapes, leading to impoverished summer and winter food availability. In parallel, winter bird feeding in private gardens became a common practice. Such a food supplementation may represent a bonanza for seed-deprived bird communities. Using data collected by citizen providing food to wintering birds in >1100 backyards, we analyzed the temporal and spatial trends in abundance of 30 species at feeders during four core winters periods and along a gradient of local agriculture intensification. Garden feeders located within intensively cultivated landscapes attracted more birds, the relationship being strongest for farmland species. We further found a temporal trend which strengthens this pattern as the winter progresses. These results confirm that supplying winter food to garden birds has not only a recreational value, but can also improve bird numbers hence probably winter survival rates, chiefly in intensive agricultural landscapes.

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