Making Switzerland a better place for birds

If you’re a crested tit in the woods, Switzerland is a great place to live. But if you’re a skylark you’re in trouble – mainly because of intense farming. The Swiss Ornithological Institute wants to improve habitats for all birds. “It’s too tidy here; we get rid of small stones, trees and hedges because we don’t like to ‘waste’ any land,” says Sophie Jaquier, a biologist at the Swiss Ornithological Institute. She’s referring to Switzerland’s limited space for settlements, industry and agriculture. In addition to reducing the living area for birds that nest near the ground, this means less breeding ground for insects – essential for the diets of most birds. The use of pesticides and also herbicides is making it worse. “Insects need these ‘weeds’,” points out Jaquier. And while Swiss woodland birds are doing well thanks to growing forests and deadwood, species that live in agricultural zones are losing out. “Skylarks, for example, breed on the ground, and they like medium-high, ...