Birdfeeders reveal vast urban bird diversity

San Antonio is one of the fastest urbanizing cities in the U.S., and with that growth, more people are placing birdfeeders in their backyards. Researchers tapped into those birdfeeders to learn more about what birds show up in the urban area. They also wanted to learn how birdfeeders may affect bird communities. “One of the ways that people engage with birds in urban areas is through backyard bird feeding,” said Jennifer Smith, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio and a TWS member, in a press release. “But what does it do to the avian communities in our backyards? That’s an important question for understanding why urbanization is affecting bird populations.” With the help of citizen scientists, Smith and her graduate student Amanda Lamberson surveyed birds showing up at backyard feeders that used different types of seeds. The following year, they removed the seeds altogether. The researchers counted 6,088 birds from 40 different species during both parts of the study. Lesser goldfinches (Spinus psaltria) showed up the most, especially in yards with Nyjer-seed. But the species continued appearing in those yards even when the seeds were removed. “We often think about reduced diversity and species richness in response to urbanization, but beyond just the feeding component of Amanda’s project, our results showcase that there are a lot of different bird species in urban areas.” Smith said.

Read the study in PLOS ONE.