Wednesday, 2 September 2020

Avian Roadies


An interesting account looks at the impact of roads in the UK on populations of birds (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/01/weve-covered-huge-swathes-of-the-uk-in-tarmac-how-roads-affect-birds-aoe). The author points out that the country is one of the most 'road dense' areas on the planet with almost 400,000 km (and scheduled to extend) of tarmac for cars. It is claimed that 80% of the land surface in the UK is well within 1km of a road. Roads are not only a collision threat for birds (as well as for insects and mammals) but they also generate air, noise and light (at night) pollution. More than 60% of bird species show significant variance in their abundance with their exposure to roads. There are, of course, 'winners' (common gull species, blackbirds, pigeons and scavengers of all types) and 'losers' (generally more conservation concerning birds such as lapwings, skylarks, warblers and Yellow wagtails). Different combinations of road-associated factors seem to determine whether a particular species can thrive or not close to roads. Perhaps the move away from the noise of the internal combustion engine in our vehicles will favour some species? We at least ought to consider the likely impact on bird species when planning new roads.

 

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