Avocetta 38: 37-39 (2014)
Short communications - Brevi note
Impact of noise barriers on birds. A case study along
a Tuscany highway
Tommaso Campedelli*, Guglielmo Londi, Simonetta Cutini, Claudia Donati,
Guido Tellini Florenzano
Dream Italia - Via Garibaldi 3, 52015 Pratovecchio (AR).
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Abstract – One of the most harmful impact that the presence of an
infrastructure can cause on birds is the death by direct collisions,
both against the vehicles passing and the related structures, like
noise barriers. Despite the great concern raised in the last years
about the entity of this issue, little has been made to avoid or mitigate this problem. In this short-note we report a case study on the
impact of these structures on birds along a highway in Tuscany.
Our findings seem to stress the presence of a significance effect
in terms of numbers of both collisions and of species involved.
Among the many detrimental impacts that an infrastructure may have on birds, one of the most important is, without doubts, the deaths caused by collisions with transparent soundproof panels (Coffin 2007). These are structures
that aim to limit noise pollution in urban sections or in the
vicinity of residential areas, consisting, in many cases, of
transparent panels. At an international level the extent of
the problem is widely recognized (Klem 2006, 2009, Seewagen 2008) and the numerous studies carried out show
that direct collisions against transparent manmade structures, including building windows, is by far the leading
cause of direct mortality in birds, with a far greater impact than that of many other phenomena often perceived
(and not only by the general public) as much more serious
(Sibley 2003). In Italy, however, few studies have been
carried out (Dinetti et al. 2008) and even fewer interventions to mitigate such effects, despite the fact that in recent
years new types of dissuaders have been successfully tested, which are much more efficient - and aesthetically acceptable - than the often used decals or stickers depicting
birds of prey or other birds (Rössler et al. 2009, Schmid
et al. 2013).
In this short paper we present the results of one study,
carried out on behalf of SPEA Ingegneria Europea, the engineering division of Autostrade per l’Italia, aimed at as© 2014 CISO – Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici
sessing the impact of noise reduction barriers on the stretch
of the A1 highway between the Firenze Scandicci and Firenze Nord exits. The study examined only some of the barriers present in this section of highway: four on the southbound carriageway (B1, B2, B3 and B4), with lengths of
86, 88, 154 and 704 m respectively, and two on the northbound carriageway (B5 and B6), both of 76 m; the barrier
B4 was monitored only partially, over a length of 330 m,
due to the presence of an active worksite. Impact was assessed by identifying, on both sides of the barriers, the carcasses of birds who died as a result of collision. The barriers were all made of plexiglass, a completely transparent
material.
The surveys were carried out by a single researcher, on
a weekly basis, over the period between June 18 and September 13, 2010, during the off-peak morning hours, when
traffic is less intense. For each carcass found, the following data were recorded: the barrier, the side of the barrier
where the carcass was discovered (i.e. external or internal),
and the species of bird.
Similar research experiences involving identification
of carcasses, conducted mainly in the field of wind farm
impact, have shown that simply considering the numbers
obtained in the field, i.e. the number of carcasses actually retrieved, results in an underestimate, sometimes important, of the real impact of an infrastructure (Morrison
2002, Duffy & Steward 2008). Several factors can considerably reduce the effectiveness of the surveys; the most
important one is probably the structure and the height of
the vegetation in the area, which can significantly limit
the ability to identify and retrieve the carcasses. Another
source of bias might be the removal of carcasses by predators (scavengers). To evaluate the effect of these factors,
on four separate occasions, a fellow researcher placed a
variable number of carcasses (from here called controls) in
37
Short communications - Brevi note
the area of the barriers. These controls were recognizable
by the colour-marking of some parts (claws and/or beak);
the researcher assigned to the task of searching carcasses
was informed of the control presence, but was unaware of
their number and, above all, of the dates and places of deployment. In such a way it was possible to evaluate, for
each barrier, the efficiency of the research methodology
(the percentage of tests retrieved against the total placed)
and then define a corrective measure that when applied to
the number of birds found really died as a result of collision made it possible to calculate a more reliable estimate
of the impact. The corrective measure was simply a proportion, the percentage of efficiency equal to the number
of carcasses recovered. The trial was carried out for all the
barriers, excluding B3, in which case the correction applied was the average of those calculated for the other five
barriers.
Finally, to assess the possible effect of structures other
than the barriers on mortality, we examined any significant relationships between the rate of collision and the different types of land use. For a 300-m radius area around
each barrier, we drew up a map of the land use, considering the main eco-system types in the area: open water, fallow land, cultivated land, residential areas, industrial areas
and roads. To assess the possible effect of land use on the
rate of mortality we first carried out a preliminary investi-
gation, using Spearman’s rank correlation (Siegel & Castellan 1992) and then tested possible effects using Generalized Linear Models (GLM; Rushton et al. 2004).
We carried a total of 14 surveys, during which 50 carcasses belonging to 19 species were found (Table 1). In
five cases it was not possible to identify the species. The
species found included a red-backed shrike and four kingfishers, both considered species of conservation importance, both under the 79/409/EEC Birds Directive, and
subsequent updates, and the Tuscan Regional Authority
law 56/2000. Table 2 shows the data for individual barriers: the number of carcasses found, the efficiency of the
research and the estimate of impact.
Using the estimate of the research efficiency as a corrective measure to apply to the number of carcasses actually recovered, a total of 0.23 collisions per day was found
for every 100 m of barrier, i.e. it is estimated that every
day, along the 1184 m of barriers examined, 2.7 birds died.
These data were consistent, although slightly higher, with
the results of the only two other cases of similar studies
published in Italy (Capitani et al. 2007, Cairo 2008). In
particular, along a stretch of the Bergamo ring road, Cairo
(2008) estimated a mortality of 0.95 individuals per day
for 700 metres of barrier, i.e. 0.14 individuals per day per
100 m. Regarding the effect of the different types of land
use in the area of each barrier, none of the analyses carried
Table 1. Number of carcasses per species found during the study surveys.
38
Common name
Scientific name
Feral pigeon
Wood pigeon
Blackbird
Kingfisher
Serin
Greenfinch
Moorhen
Swift
Barn swallow
Pheasant
Collared dove
House martin
White wagtail
Blackcap
Red-backed shrike
Magpie
Starling
Italian sparrow
Goldfinch
undetermined
Columba livia forma domestica domestica
Columba palumbus
Turdus merula
Alcedo atthis
Serinus serinus
Carduelis chloris
Gallinula chloropus
Apus apus
Hirundo rustica
Phasianus colchicus
Streptopelia decaocto
Delichon urbicum
Motacilla alba
Sylvia atricapilla
Lanius collurio
Pica pica
Sturnus vulgaris
Passer italiae
Carduelis carduelis
Nummber of carcasses
9
5
5
4
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
Short communications - Brevi note
Table 2. Number of surveys carried out, carcasses and controls found at the sites of the different sections of barriers; it is reported also
the efficiency of the search, expressed as a percentage of controls recovered, and the estimate of impact, overall and for each barrier, with
a confidence interval of 5%. Efficiency tests were not made at barrier n. 3 (B3).
Barrier
B1 (86 m)
B2 (88 m)
B3 (154 m)
B4 (303 m)
B5 (76 m)
B6 (76 m)
Total
Survey
11
13
14
13
14
11
Carcasses
Controls
Mortality rate (collisions/day/100 meters)
Positioned
Recovered
Efficiency
Observed
Estimated
7
8
9
14
10
2
11
20
no test
25
18
17
5
9
40.6%**
6
9
6
44.4%
44.5%
0.060
24.6%
54.2%
35.4%
0.106
0.100
0.147
0.099
0.134
0.034
0.238
0.225
0.147
0.404
0.248
0.096
50
91
35
40.6%
0.089 ± 0.029
0.226 ± 0.096
out revealed any significant effect due to the nature of the
surrounding environment. It is possible that the number of
carcasses recovered is too small to reveal significant differences, although it may also be the case that there is no
significant effect of land use typologies because of the period in which the surveys were carried out. The research
period in fact fell, for most species, in the post-breeding
phase, when adults were no longer confined to the nesting
territory and fledglings had already dispersed. The results
showed a significant impact on birds, especially if considered in the light of the widespread use of transparent noise
reduction structures. Our findings, even though related to
a limited area and timeframe, nevertheless confirmed these
structures as a factor significantly affecting bird mortality (Klem 2009). This study also confirmed how this impact can also relate to species of conservation importance
(Zbyryt et al. 2012), in the particular cases of the redbacked shrike and kingfisher. These findings emphasize
the need, and the urgency, to undertake large-scale mitigation and prevention interventions, considering the methods and techniques that are now available, interventions
that should be required directly in the designs of projects
for the construction of any structures involving the use of
transparent panels.
REFERENCES
Cairo E., 2008. Mortalità di avifauna per collisione contro barriere
in PMMA: indagine prima e dopo l’applicazione di sagome di
rapaci. Picus 34: 43-48.
Capitani F., Dinetti M., Fangarezzi C., Piani C. & Selmi E., 2007.
Barriere fonoassorbenti trasparenti: impatto sull’avifauna nella periferia della città di Modena. Riv. Ital. Orn. 76: 115-124.
Coffin W.A., 2007. From roadkill to road ecology: A review of
the ecological effects of roads. J Trans. Geog. 15: 396-406.
Dinetti M. (ed.), 2008. Infrastrutture di trasporto e biodiversità:
lo stato dell’arte in Italia. Il problema della frammentazione
degli habitat causata da autostrade, strade, ferrovie e canali
navigabili. IENE Infra-Eco-Network-Europe, Sezione Italia.
Duffy K. & Steward M., 2008. Turbine search methods and carcass removal trials at the Braes of Doune windfarm. Natural Research Information Note 4. Natural Research Ltd, Banchory, UK.
Klem D. Jr., 2006. Glass: a deadly conservation issue for birds.
Bird Observer 34: 73-81.
Klem D. Jr., 2009. Avian mortality at windows: the second largest
human source of bird mortality on earth. Proceedings of the
Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference: Tundra to
Tropics, 244-251.
Morrison M., 2002. Searcher bias and scavenging rates in bird/
wind energy studies. National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Golden, Colorado, USA.
Rössler M., Laube W. & Weihs P., 2009. Avoiding bird collisions
with glass surfaces. Experimental investigations of the efficacy of markings on glass panes under natural light conditions
in Flight Tunnel II (Final report, March 2007). BOKU-Met
Report 10. Available at: http://www.boku.ac.at/met/report/
BOKU-Met_Report_10_online.pdf
Rushton S.P., Ormerod S.J. & Kerby G., 2004. New paradigms for
modelling species distributions? J. App. Ecol. 41: 193-200.
Schmid H., Doppler W., Heynen D. & Rössler M., 2013. Costrui­
re con vetro e luce rispettando gli uccelli. Seconda edizione rivista e ampliata. Stazione Ornitologica Svizzera, Sempach, CH.
Seewagen C.L., 2008. Bird collisions with windows: An annotated bibliography. New York City Audubon and the Wildlife
Conservation Society, New York, USA.
Sibley D., 2003. Causes of Bird Mortality. http://www.sibleyguides.com/conservation/causes-of-bird-mortality
Zbyryt A., Suchowoleca A. & Siuchno R., 2012. Species composition of birds colliding with noise barriers in Białystok
(North-Eastern Poland). Intern. Study on Sparrows 36: 88-94.
Associate editor: Daniela Campobello
39
Avocetta 38: 40-41 (2014)
New breeding records of Middle Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos medius in Abruzzo, Italy
Paul Harris, Stephen Harris
Via Vitaliano Brancati 65, 00144 Roma, Italy (Paul Harris: [email protected])
Abstract – In 2007 we found a pair of Middle Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos medius nesting in an old beech stump in the
Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise (PNALM); this was
the third documented breeding record for the species in Abruzzo.
This nesting territory, in a mature beech forest, was also occupied
during the years 2008-2011. In this report we also describe the
discovery of a new breeding area in Abruzzo which holds at least
four more breeding pairs of this species.
The Middle Spotted Woodpecker is a resident breeding
species in Italy, mainly confined to the central-southern
Apennines and to the Gargano peninsula. The Italian regions in which it nests regularly include Puglia, Basilicata
and Molise, while it is present but localized in Calabria,
Campania, Abruzzo and Marche (Brichetti & Fracasso
2007). Historically it was considered to be present but rare
in Lazio, Umbria and Toscana as well, but recent observations from these regions are very scarce, and its possible
status as a breeding species would need to be confirmed.
In some areas, the presence of Middle Spotted Woodpeckers could well be overlooked or under-estimated, due to
poor coverage.
For the Abruzzo region, previous to the breeding site
discovered in 2007, there had only been two documented
nesting records (Zunino 1983), when it had nested in the
same dead tree stump for two consecutive years. A newlyfledged family had also been observed in the PNALM park
by M. Cappelli in June 1999 (pers. comm.). Historical ornithological literature regarding Abruzzo, and the PNALM
park in particular, considered Middle Spotted Woodpeckers to be present, but extremely rare and localized (Di Carlo 1972, Zunino 1983, Bernoni 1992, 1995).
The breeding site we found in 2007 was situated in a
mature beech forest at approximately 1700 metres above
sea level (Harris et Harris 2007). The dead beech stump
was 12 metres high, and the nest-hole was about 8 metres
from the ground. The Middle Spotted Woodpeckers nested
in this dead stump again for the following two years - successful broods were raised both in 2008 and in 2009, and a
new nest-hole was excavated each year. In 2010 and 2011
the stump was not used again but the birds were heard near40
by and breeding was certainly successful in 2011, when we
observed a newly-fledged bird being fed by an adult only a
few metres from the original stump. In 2012 and 2013 the
woodpeckers were not seen or heard in this territory, and
in 2013 the dead beech stump had fallen to the ground.
Meanwhile, new Middle Spotted Woodpecker territories were discovered in another area about 10 kms away,
and checks carried out here during the years 2008-2013 revealed the regular presence of at least four pairs of Middle
Spotted Woodpeckers, nesting in adjacent territories. The
habitat here was more typical of the known requirements
for this species, as it consisted of mixed oak/beech woods
with a few conifers, rather than pure beech woods (Pasinelli 2000). In common with the original 2007 breeding territory, the habitat was largely unspoilt, with the presence of
a good number of tall, old trees. This population of Middle
Spotted Woodpeckers appeared to be isolated, as research
carried out in similar habitat nearby produced no further
observations. The birds were also highly sedentary, being
observed in the same areas in all seasons of the year, and
seemed particularly faithful to their nesting trees.
Indeed, despite the relatively low number of occupied
Middle Spotted Woodpecker nests found in Abruzzo so far
(ten), the tendency to use the same trees for nesting seems
to be statistically suspect, as the ten nests were found in
only five different trees. Moreover, the presence of series
of presumable old Middle Spotted Woodpecker holes in
only a few other trees in the area seems to confirm this hypothesis, which is in general not typical of this woodpecker’s nesting habits in other parts of Europe (Gorman pers.
comm., Pasinelli pers. comm.) - this could indicate that
the birds have some difficulty in finding suitable trees for
excavating their nest-holes.
The importance of conserving the mature high-standing trees used by the birds for nesting and, even more importantly, for foraging cannot be over-emphasized. Were
these ancient trees to be felled these apparently isolated
populations of Middle Spotted Woodpeckers in Abruzzo
could well be at risk of local extinction, considering the
poor dispersal capability of the species as well (Gorman
2004, Pasinelli 2003).
© 2014 CISO – Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici
Short communications - Brevi note
Figure 1. Adult Middle Spotted Woodpecker at nest-hole,
Abruzzo, June 2011.
Figure 2. Adult and juv. Middle Spotted Woodpecker at
nest, Abruzzo, June 2011.
REFERENCES
Bernoni M., 1992. Dati sulla presenza dei Piciformi nelle faggete
del Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Alula 1: 48-51.
Bernoni M., 1995. Check-List degli Uccelli del Parco Nazionale
d’Abruzzo. Progetto Biodiversità, Ente Autonomo Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, 3.
Brichetti P. & Fracasso G., 2007. Ornitologia italiana. Vol. 4,
Apodidae - Prunellidae. A. Perdisa ed., Bologna.
Di Carlo E.A., 1972. Gli Uccelli del Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo.
Riv. ital. Orn., 42: 1-160.
Gorman G., 2004. Woodpeckers of Europe. Bruce Coleman.
Harris P. & Harris S., 2007. Caso di nidificazione di picchio rosso mezzano Dendrocopos medius in Abruzzo. Alula 14: 136138.
Pasinelli G., 2000. Oaks (Quercus sp.) and only oaks? Relations
between habitat structure and home range size of the middle
spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius). Biol. Conserv.,
93: 227-235.
Pasinelli G., 2003. Dendrocopos medius Middle Spotted Woodpecker. BWP Update, 5: 49-99.
Zunino F., 1983. Note ornitologiche dal Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, con particolare riferimento al Dryobates medius e al
D. leucotos lilfordi. Riv. ital. Orn., 53: 59-71.
41
Avocetta 38: 42-43 (2014)
Columns - Rubriche
Book Reviews - Recensioni
Publishers and Authors are invited to submit a copy of their books for a review in the journal. Books are to be sent to the CISO secretary
(Tommaso La Mantia - Dipartimento SAF (Scienze agrarie e forestali), Università di Palermo - Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 4, Ingr. H - 90128
Palermo (Italy) – Editori e Autori sono invitati a sottoporre una copia dei loro volumi per una recensione. I volumi devono essere spediti
alla segreteria CISO (Tommaso La Mantia - Dipartimento SAF (Scienze agrarie e forestali), Università di Palermo - Viale delle Scienze,
Ed. 4, Ingr. H - 90128 Palermo (Italy).
Leisler B. & Schulze-Hagen K., 2011. The Reed Warblers
- diversity in a uniform bird family. KNNV Publishing,
Zeist (Olanda), in collaborazione con Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. 328 pp., hardback, riccamente illustrato
da spettacolari fotografie e numerosi disegni.
Per ordinarlo:
www.knnvpublishing.nl oppure [email protected]
Ecco un libro intrigante che non si rivolge solo ricercatori
e ornitologi, ma anche a birdwatcher e naturalisti appassionati. Una panoramica approfondita ma comprensibile su
un gruppo di 53 specie viventi di passeriformi canori, ampiamente diffusi in tutti i continenti, tranne che nel Nuovo Mondo, con baricentro distributivo in Asia centro-occidentale. La nuova famiglia degli Acrocefalidi, creata in
base ai più recenti studi a livello molecolare, comprende
ora le specie dei generi Nesillas, Calamonastides, Phragamaticola, Iduna, Hippolais e Acrocephalus. Per noi è singolare vedere affiancati “canapini” e “silvie di canna”, ma
dovremo abituarci a molte altre novità, visto che i moderni
studi tassonomici sembrano abbiano dimenticato i classici
approcci morfologici ed eco-etologici, per affidarsi alla genetica basata sulle nuove tecniche molecolari.
Questo non ci facilita però i problemi di identificazione di alcune specie, quali la Cannaiola comune e la Cannaiola verdognola, agevolmente distinguibili sul campo per
le vocalizzazioni, ma difficilissime da identificare in mano
a causa delle strette affinità morfologiche conseguenti dalla discendenza da un comune progenitore.
Il volume, riccamente illustrato con immagini di soggetti fotografati in natura ed in mano, dai disegni di David Quinn, da mappe e numerosi diagrammi, si sviluppa in
15 capitoli, i cui argomenti principali riguardano: introduzione alle specie, sistematica, habitat, alimentazione, ecomorfologia, territorialità, vocalizzazioni, nidificazione, parassitismo, sistema riproduttivo, migrazione, biogeografia
insulare, dinamica di popolazione e conservazione, con42
vergenze evolutive, ricerca e ricercatori; chiude il volume
una bibliografia esaustiva. Quindi un approccio comparativo che, utilizzando dati noti ed inediti, tocca tutti gli aspetti
biologici, trasportandoci fuori dai nostri confini, attraverso
l’Africa e l’Asia, fino al Madagascar con le specie del genere Nesillas e alle isole polinesiane, con i relativi processi di colonizzazione ed estinzione delle specie del genere
Acrocephalus.
Questa approfondita trattazione, oltre che mostrarci i
risultati degli studi scientifici nelle varie parti del globo,
rappresenta un modello di riferimento per molti filoni di
ricerca ed evidenzia anche le attuali lacune di conoscenza,
fonte di spunti per future ricerche di campagna e di laboratorio, riguardanti anche altri gruppi sistematici.
Un libro veramente ben fatto, dalle cui pagine, scritte con un linguaggio chiaro e immediato, si capisce subito
che è stato scritto da ornitologi che hanno compiuto personalmente ricerche approfondite sulle “silvie di canna”,
innamorandosi nel contempo dei loro soggetti di studio.
Non per niente Bernd e Karl hanno calpestato per quasi
mezzo secolo zone umide e boscaglie, utilizzato laboratori di ricerca e aperto cassetti di pelli di musei. Le ricerche su questo interessante gruppo di specie rientrano in un
progetto del Max Planck Institute for Ornithology di Radofzell. Consiglio l’acquisto del libro agli ornitologi ed ai
birdwatcher che vogliano ampliare e approfondire le proprie conoscenze.
Pierandrea Brichetti ([email protected])
F. Mezzavilla, F. Scarton (eds.), 2013. Atti Secondo Convegno Italiano Rapaci Diurni e Notturni. Associazione
Faunisti Veneti, Quaderni Faunistici 3: 312 pp.
Con una bella foto di aquila reale ben composta in copertina escono nella collana dei Quaderni Faunistici dell’AsFa-
Columns - Rubriche
Ve gli Atti del secondo Convegno sui rapaci diurni e notturni (Treviso, ottobre 2012). Seguito naturale del primo
Convegno del 2002, allora pubblicato in Avocetta, questo nuovo incontro riprende, talvolta ampliando, alcuni dei
temi già affrontati allora allocandoli in quattro sessioni:
Ecologia e conservazione, Migrazioni, Monitoraggi a medio-lungo termine e Rapaci del Triveneto. I 46 lavori pubblicati (quasi l’80% di quelli complessivamente presentati) coprono, per ammissione dei redattori, buona parte di
quanto si sta facendo in Italia su questo gruppo di specie.
Apprezzabile innanzitutto (l’esistenza e) la prosecuzione
di indagini di lungo periodo su aree anche vaste, soprattutto di monitoraggio di particolari flussi migratori (es. falco pecchiaiolo, biancone) o di consistenza e/o biologia riproduttiva (es. aquila reale nell’Appennino settentrionale,
falco cuculo in pianura padana, civetta capogrosso nelle
Prealpi venete..., oltre ad un quadro di insieme a scala na-
zionale dei dati del progetto MITO2000). Macroscopicamente minoritarie, purtroppo, le indagini sulla componente
notturna, soprattutto quelle di medio-lungo periodo. Fra i
lavori da evidenziare, interessante il protocollo scientifico
proposto dall’Osservatorio Nazionale su eolico e fauna per
uniformare la raccolta e l’analisi dei dati relativi ai rischi di
impatto degli impianti eolici su uccelli e chirotteri. I contributi relativi ai progetti di (re)introduzione sono diminuiti rispetto al panorama offerto nel 2002, e si è ristretto il
numero di specie target. Piace in questo sperare che la tendenza alla “poca pianificazione, molti progetti” negativamente evidenziata nel corso del primo Convegno si sia in
gran parte invertita e che si stia andando verso una pianificazione più matura degli interventi, mirata alle specie di
reale interesse conservazionistico nazionale.
Marco Zenatello ([email protected])
43
Calidris alpina (Dresser 1871-1881)