Austria’s largest citizen science project, the “Hour of Winter Birds”, recorded a record number of participants with 27,821 participants. Significantly more birds were observed in the 15th edition than the year before, but the long-term trend is negative, Birdlife reports on Monday: There are fewer and fewer birds in residential areas. This time the great tit was by far the most frequent visitor to the winter gardens.
In the anniversary year, 13.4 percent more nature lovers participated in the campaign than the year before. 677,186 birds were spotted – an increase of 45 percent. Since the first count in 2010, a total of 180,937 participants have reported 4,399,481 winter birds, according to Birdlife director Gábor Wichmann. The next ‘Hour of Winter Birds’ will take place from January 4 to 6, 2025.
5.3 great tits per garden
The great tit was the most common settlement bird in Austria; it was seen in 89.4 percent of gardens with an average of 5.3 individuals per garden. Last year’s winner, the Huismus (“Huismus”) and the Field Sparrow (“Feldspartz”) finished in second and third place. Since the beginning of counts, these three species have been the most common birds in winter settlement areas. The blackbird fluttered in fourth place; Compared to last year, it occurred a quarter more often in all states.
On average, approximately 32 birds visited the local gardens on the counting days (5 to 7 January 2024). That was considerably more than the year before, when there were 26 birds per garden, fewer than ever before in the residential area. However, according to Birdlife, the long-term trend (2010 to 2024) shows a continued decline: while more than forty birds were observed per garden in the first six years, it went almost steadily downhill from 2016 onwards. This is influenced by weather and food supply, for example by forest trees, but also by the decline of habitat for birds in settlements due to increasingly unnatural gardens, the loss of old trees and soil sealing.
The Stieglitz numbers are rising again
The goldfinch is one of the few bird species that shows a slightly positive trend over the years. It now also winters in local settlement areas and likes to visit feeding grounds.
Source: Krone
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