Summer bird feeding more important than winter feeding

«Feeding birds in summer can work true miracles,» said the former head of the Vogelwarte Radolfzell at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology.

The energy and protein requirements of birds are particularly high during the rearing phase in the summer months, the expert explained. But precisely because of the dramatic decline in insect populations, there is an acute shortage of food at exactly that time. This not only restricts adult birds in raising their young. “More and more birds are even having trouble forming eggs, or are no longer breeding at all,” said Berthold. Supplementary feeding by humans is therefore indispensable.

The scientist described the EU’s decision to ban the use of three neonicotinoids — among the best-selling insecticides in Germany — in open fields as long overdue.

These are the worst agents we have, because they kill insects directly, especially bees and wild bees.

This also has catastrophic consequences for bird populations. Berthold has no understanding for the EU’s decision to continue permitting their use in greenhouses. “This tells me that politicians still have not grasped how serious the situation is.” Berthold estimates the overall decline in bird settlement density in Germany from 1800 to the present at 80 percent — 65 percent of that since the 1960s. “What began slowly has today taken on the form of a galloping consumption,” said the scientist.