The wonderful world of native birds

From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl

(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)

The wonderful world of native birds

The project of preserving animal breeds that are becoming extinct has also been a topic at Aiderbichl for years. The increasingly rare black-nosed sheep, the Austro-Hungarian Baroque donkey, the Hungarian Zackel sheep, numerous breeds of cattle, Noriker, etc. live here.

In the woods around Gut Aiderbichl, a wide variety of native birds are chirping. They come, because our farmers leave the grasses standing longer so that the insect food is available, and the insects, for example, "fill" the birds' larder.

Nature is surrounded by a closed, symbiotic system. The natural system is becoming increasingly fragile due to air pollution, rising temperatures and threatening natural disasters.

The specificity of migratory birds and long-distance migrants

The children learn at school that 420 bird species live in Austria and 150 bird species stay in our country in winter.
Birds use the food supply of different climatic zones. A well-known migratory bird, the stork, comes in spring and then graces the fields, makes its nest by the chimney and, in its pride, is simply beautiful to watch. The cuckoo is a long-distance migrant and crosses the Mediterranean and the Sahara in South Africa to winter.

Migratory birds, such as the robin or the starling, fly in winter as far as the Mediterranean coast or to native valleys, where they can overwinter in terms of temperature. Conversely, they migrate back to Europe in spring because the grasses and flowers grow, insects serve as food and, above all, because European summer months are milder than tropical ones. They mate, they have young and at some point they head south again.

Known Austrian winter birds

More than 150 bird species stay in Austria in winter. A very well-known bird at the feeder is the great tit. It loves sunflower and peanut seeds.
The blackbird is unfortunately sighted less and less. The male is black with an orange bill and a yellow eye ring. The females are dark brown. Blackbirds love sultanas, oatmeal and corn flakes.
The popular blue tit can be recognised by its blue and yellow plumage. The great spotted woodpecker drums on branches, gutters. They all stay in snowy Austria and hope for good grains in the feeders.

Climate change and native bird diversity

Will stork & co be able to adapt to climate change? Storks set off in South Africa, cross large parts of the country and find that the insect density shifts by up to two weeks. The young are born and there is too little food.
Rain and heat shift the birds' "feeding chambers". How do we tell the birds that the living situation is becoming different?

An answer can only be given by people who follow nature's way of thinking and try to preserve nature for the animals and, thus, for people.