Akkervogels

Populations of farmland, woodland and marine birds have all fallen dramatically over the past 50 years, according to new government figures. In all bird species, populations have declined by six per cent since 1970, but some species saw stunning declines over the past five decades, as pesticides, the intensification of farming and the removal of hedgerows wreaked havoc. Bird populations are seen as a key indicator of the health of the natural world as they tend to feed on small insects that are the basis of the food chain.

North America has more than a billion fewer birds than it did 40 years ago, with the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) and the chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica) just two of the better-known species in dramatic decline across the continent, a recent survey has found. The total number of continental landbirds stands at about 10 billion, down from about 11.5 billion in 1970.

Based on count data compiled from Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) from 1974 to 2012, Christmas Bird Count (CBC) collected from 1914 to 2013, and hunter data from Annual Game Take Survey (AGTS) for years 1948–2010, ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in California have experienced substantial declines in agricultural environments. An additional analysis using a restricted data set (1990–2013) indicated recent negative impacts on pheasant numbers associated with land use practices were also associated with relatively high levels of pesticide application.

The number of birds in Germany and Europe has dropped significantly over the past 30 years, according to the German government. In Germany, one-third of all bird species have seen "significant population declines" since the end of the 1990s, said the government in response to a question about the plight of birds across Europe put forward by the Greens. "The situation of birds is dramatic," said Steffi Lemke, a German Green Party lawmaker.

Die Zahl der Vögel in Niedersachsen geht weiter zurück. Im vergangenen Winter seien etwa 17 Prozent weniger Vögel gezählt worden, berichtet der NDR. Insgesamt über 40 Vogelarten stehen nach Angaben der Vogelschutzwarte Niedersachsen auf der sogenannten Roten Liste. Ein Grund für den Rückgang des Vogelvorkommens liegt in der Landwirtschaft. Weil Landwirte immer mehr Pestizide einsetzten, sterben viele Insekten. Die fehlen dann den Vögeln als Nahrung. Daher fordert Niedersachsens Umweltminister Steffen Wenzel, den Einsatz von Pestiziden stärker einzudämmen.

Die Zahl der Vögel in ganz Deutschland und Europa geht dramatisch zurück. Vor allem Vögel, die in Agrarlandschaften leben, sind bedroht. In einer Antwort auf eine Kleine Anfrage der Grünen, die der Deutschen Presse-Agentur am Donnerstag vorlag, hat die Bundesregierung die Zahlen zusammengetragen: Insgesamt ist demnach in der EU die Zahl der Brutpaare in den landwirtschaftlichen Gebieten zwischen 1980 und 2010 um 300 Millionen zurückgegangen, ein Minus von 57 Prozent.

Once sighted in the thousands, the Blue-tailed bee-eater is a sparsely spotted bird these days. Bird watchers and photographers say their numbers have significantly declined from thousands to a few hundreds in the last five years. In South India, the tiny beauty is endemic to Chandagala, a village on the banks of River Cauvery and close to the historic town of Srirangapatna in Mandya district. The Blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops philippinus) is migratory by nature. The bird is found in peninsular parts of the country.