HE extreme heat of the last days (and expected for this summer) and the consequent lack of rain early in the bird breeding season threatens the reproductive success of bird populations. different species that use mud to build slotslike airplanes or swallows. In addition, during the increased destruction of these elements building reform or rehabilitation work, ignoring the importance of slots. And that means their destruction (even if empty) is legal heavy fines.
“Every swallow or sycamore nest is made from tiny bits of mud carried in the beaks of busy parents. These birds take a small piece of mud, “chew” it well to homogenize it. “And throw out any airbags it may contain and carefully drop it into the nest under construction,” explains Luis Martínez, a technician from the Spanish Society of Ornithology (SEO/BirdLife).
5,000 flights for a slot
The amount of mud they can carry in their beaks is very limited, and a full nest of Common House Martins may require 2,500 mouthfuls of mud or the same. The couple can make more than 5,000 journeys between where they found the mud and where they nested. for two weeks devoted to completing the work.
The nest is maintained and repaired by the couple that occupies it, and they tend to use it over the years.
The NGO warns that in a scenario where hundreds of nests of these species are destroyed each year, the lack of mud to rebuild nests worsens the situation, complicating their reproductive cycles.
what does the law say
The destruction of both nestlings and empty nests of protected birds is considered a serious offense under both national and European law, and the accused may face it. A fine ranging from 5,001 to 200,000 euros.
Law 42/2007 on natural heritage and biodiversity literally states: “It is forbidden to deliberately kill, harm, disturb or disturb wild animals, whatever the method used or the stage of their biological cycle. This prohibition prohibits their detention and capture alive, destruction, damage, collection and retention of nests, offspring or eggs, even if the last one is emptypossession, transportation, trade and trade of living or dead specimens or their remains, including foreign trade”.
Therefore, neither tenants nor landlords are allowed to remove the nests of protected birds such as swallows or terns, especially at this time. They begin laying eggs and raising their chicks before returning to Africa. on a journey of several thousand kilometers.
The importance of terns, terns, sycamores and other insectivorous birds lies in the large number of insects they consume every day, which helps to keep away numerous agricultural pests. Without this mass ingestion of insects, damage to agriculture could increase exponentially. These birds are considered essential for crop protection and food security itself.
Anyone who witnesses the destruction of nests can file a complaint with the Civil Guard’s Nature Conservation Service (Seprona).
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP BIRDS FACE THE TEMPERATURE?
As with humans, heat puts birds under great physiological stress. to face him they need water sources to drink to rehydrate their bodies and where to take refreshing baths. The simplest act to help birds cope with the heat is to provide them with water in a suitable and accessible container, such as a simple pot-plate, on windowsills, patios or gardens.
Elimination of mud shortage for planes and swallows to nest, Settlement areas with suitable muddy areas can be established where they can collect the mud they need to create the nest structure and try to make the material as close as possible to the nesting sites to avoid excessive energy loss in the transport routes.
Water is an overall scarce resource, and although there are many water points in urban environments, access to them is often difficult for birds.
“Overall, it would be much more friendly to wildlife and also to people if public administrations took biodiversity into account in the design and management of urban space. “Because of their features and the scarcity of natural barriers to soften them, cities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate emergencies like heat waves,” says Beatriz Sánchez of the SEO/BirdLife Urban Biodiversity program.
“Nature-based solutions (NbS) have been widely proven to be more efficient and less expensive than traditional solutions to combat these effects. For example, city trees can help cool the air between 2 and 8 degreesthus reducing the “heat island” effect, Sánchez recalls.
Contact address of the environment department: [email protected]