They came to our homes shortly after they were built. It was thousands of years ago and since then they are still by our side. Although it is difficult for them to do so. Urban birds, the most recognizable ambassadors that nature sends to cities, have the same housing problems as humans. It is increasingly difficult for them to find accommodation and space to form a family, to have offspring, to live, in short.
We are talking about sparrows, swifts, kestrels and swallows, but also about silent bats and a wide variety of winged beings that accompany us in our homes, but who find it increasingly find a place in them.
The Spanish Ornithological Society, SEO / Birdlife, has just presented the guide Wildlife and buildings, accompanied by a free website, which provides simple architectural solutions that favor the conservation of these long-suffering neighbors that we have so close and take care of so little.
"We have detected in recent years, that in the rehabilitation of buildings many nests of different species are being destroyed, especially swifts, kestrels and bats," says Beatriz Sánchez, coordinator of the Urban Biodiversity program of SEO / Birdlife.
This problem, which directly affects the conservation of a large number of species, many of them threatened, is basically due to the lack of knowledge of the relationship between birds and buildings, both in the field of architects, as well as in that of owners, construction companies and public administrations, as explained by the ornithological entity.
SEO/Birdlife denounces that "all wild species are protected and it is required by law to protect their places of refuge and breeding". Within the environmental regulations that all works have to comply with, both for the construction of new buildings and for the rehabilitation of existing ones, this biodiversity is not respected.
The fundamental reason points to the ignorance, both of the customs of the aforementioned wild species and, what is no less important, of the ignorance of the aforementioned regulations. It is also legitimate to think about the inaction of the authorities responsible for monitoring compliance.
"It is very important that all agents in the field of building are aware that the regulations for the protection of wild species are systematically breached, every time there is a rehabilitation work and the small holes in the facades are covered," corroborates Sánchez.
The guide published by Seo/Birdlife provides solutions that, due to their simplicity and low cost, are not understandable that they are not applied systematically. The construction of small cracks and cavities in the facades is enough for birds and bats to find housing.
A real swiftSHUTTERSTOCK
As can be seen in the publication, there are small elements that are added to the facades, whose interior is ideal for shelter and nesting of species. Its effectiveness is proven daily in countries such as Germany and there are several companies that have specialized in its production and distribution.
Among the dozens of species that inhabit the company of man, swifts, airplanes, kestrels and sparrows are the most affected. "The common swift has suffered a decline in its populations of 40 percent in the last 21 years," explains Sánchez, while pointing to the disappearance of their nests as one of the main causes.
The kestrels, a raptor that shows a preference for roofs and facades of old and historic buildings, has also suffered from this problem. "It is a species that is being greatly harmed by the rehabilitation of buildings and monuments. These works have made entire colonies disappear, denounces the spokeswoman of SEO / Birdlife.
Bats are not lagging behind. According to the Spanish Association for the Conservation and Study of Bats. SEMECU, the loss of shelters due to restoration of buildings is one of the main causes of the decline recorded by this animal group.
About 30 species of bats use the buildings for shelter. Some of them are endemic, that is, with the maximum range of threat and protection.
Inspiration in abundance for man have been swallows and sparrows. An important part of the soundscape of the afternoons of the urban summer have so far been the cries of the swifts, nights underlined by the treeless flight of bats ... Leaving aside such lofty examples, all of them, birds and winged mammals, are important consumers of insects, especially mosquitoes. If only for this, it would be worth keeping them.
Sparrows, homeless and run over
A study by SEO / Birdlife indicates that in the first decade of the XXI century 30 million sparrows disappeared in Spain. The trend is widespread in Europe, where the population of this bird has declined by 60 percent. Without reaching the cases of Brussels, Prague, Hamburg and other cities where sparrows are considered extinct, in Spanish cities our most faithful neighbor is still increasingly scarce.
The disappearance of nesting sites, both by the change in contemporary architectural designs, and by the demolition and restoration with identical canons of old buildings, are the cause of the decline of the species. The aforementioned study indicates that there are surpluses of pairs of sparrows willing to breed, but that they are unable to do so because they do not find a suitable place to build their nests. The natural decline of the Iberian house sparrow is 0.8 percent on average since 1998.
It is not the only problem of the most urban birds that exist. According to data collected in the SAFE project, a study on the mortality of wild species in infrastructures, the house sparrow is the bird species with the most deaths due to road accidents, with 11.3 percent of all animals run over.
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