Birds in the urban area – Results of winter census in Kiel- Mettenhof between 1995 and 2020, an attractive feeding habitat for birds
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21248/corax.v25.114Abstract
As part of a winter counting program of the Ornithological Working Group of Schleswig-Holstein an urban area in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, was observed from 1996 to 2020. Therefore the line transect method was applied to a stretch of 5.2 km in a development area suburb in Kiel on three dates during winter. The mixed area consists mainly of apartment buildings, tower-blocks, and one-family dwellings and is interspersed with trees and bushes similar to a garden-city. A rainwater retention basin is integrated in the stretch.
Far higher than other areas like forests or farmland the average density of birds was 230 individuals/km. Per count day the average was 70 % of the maximum, a high number of birds on every count. The bird community in this area is high and diverse.
Of all birds, 13 species were particularly abundant, with the following species identified as dominant: House Sparrow, Common Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Great Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon, and Mallard. Six more species were subdominant. Overall, 56 bird species were identified with 18 of them demonstrating a presence of more than 90%. This showed a high connectivity to the city.
During the study period five abundant species were for the first time present in the city or showed a strong tendency to spread. The winter population of Feral Rock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, and European Herring Gull increased many times over. For some populations, the migration tendency was obviously quite low; due to the high food supply, they were able to stay in Kiel even during the winter time. The number of bird species with population increases during the study period is particularly high compared to other habitats: 13 species had a presence higher than 90 %. Only three species decreased in numbers, with the dominant House Sparrow among them. The results might depend on the building construction in this part of Kiel and not representative for other parts of the city.
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