These 235 bird species breed in Austria

The “Breeding Bird Atlas 2013-2018”, a project of BirdLife Austria and the Federal Forests, has been published by the Natural History Museum (NHM) Vienna. The work is based on more than two million datasets collected by 2,300 volunteers across Austria during the study period.

“Current status of which species breed where”
“We now have up-to-date information about which species breed where – these scientifically sound principles have been missing since the 1980s,” co-editor Norbert Teufelbauer from BirdLife Austria explained to the APA. “This completeness and level of detail was high time – as an important basis for bird and nature conservation.”

Of the 235 species recorded during the observation period, 218 breed regularly in Austria, the rest only irregularly or exceptionally. 222 of the identified species are originally native, 13 alien species have been introduced by humans.

Return of imperial and white-tailed eagles
Compared to the results of the first such atlas (observation period 1981-1985), the number of native regularly breeding species has increased by eleven. “Wherever people invest time, energy and money, conservation can celebrate success,” says Teufelbauer, explaining the return of some large birds of prey or heavily hunted species.

As examples of such successes, the expert mentions sea eagles and imperial eagles, which have disappeared from this country and have emigrated again in recent years. The reason for this is the protective measures in Eastern Europe, which have allowed the two species of eagles to spread again. New breeds in Austria include the white-bearded tern, the little cormorant, the black-headed gull, the little egret, the lemon wagtail and the shelduck. “The vast majority of species that are new in Austria are also spreading at European level,” the expert emphasized, but climate change certainly also plays a role.

The skylark population halved
However, this increase in species should not hide the sometimes frightening changes in the population of cultural landscape bird species that have been recorded in recent years: ‘The atlas shows whether a species occurs in Austria or not.’ The skylark, for example, still breeds in Austria, but “we know their population has almost halved,” says Teufelbauer.

Detailed maps show the current distribution for each species, as well as comparison to the 1980s with reported area losses or expansions. Accordingly, species with range loss predominate among mountain birds and cultivated terrestrial birds. Species classified as threatened on the red lists are also significantly more likely to experience range declines than non-threatened species.

Mountain birds migrate to higher altitudes
The altitudinal distribution of many species has also changed: mountain and forest birds have migrated significantly uphill in recent decades. Land birds often tend to move lower because the higher and middle elevations are so heavily used, Teufelbauer said.

According to the experts, the higher migration is likely related to the net increase in forest cover, especially at higher altitudes, possibly in combination with climatic factors. However, climate influences are unlikely for breeding birds in the cultural landscape; For them, changes are mainly the result of changes or loss of habitat.