Does railway noise affect forest birds during the winter?

Abstract

The construction of new railway routes and the modernisation of existing ones usually have an adverse effect on the natural environment in the vicinity of such transport corridors. Negative effects of the construction of the railway line can be observed even at a considerable distance. The high frequency of wildlife-train-collisions (wtc) can lead to the death of many animals. Many groups of animals, including birds, are exposed to noise, which modifies their densities in the neighbourhood of railway lines. The relevant literature reports both positive and negative effects of railway lines on birds. The present study addressed the question of how noise generated by trains affects woodland birds during winter. Birds were counted at 45 observation/ listening points located along three rows running parallel to the railway line (15 points in each row) at different distances from the tracks (30 m, 280 m and 530 m). Each point was described in detail with the aid of a suite of environmental parameters. Three hundred and forty-eight birds from 20 species were recorded during the study. The level of noise decreased with distance from the tracks. The numbers and species diversity of birds were both higher close to the railway line than deep in the forest. The richer structure of the forest edge was an attractive habitat for birds. Birds belonging to different feeding and social guilds were distributed evenly right across the study plot. Passing trains and the noise they generated did not cause a drop in bird density by the tracks. The results of this study may be useful during the planning of new railway routes and the modernisation of existing ones in the context of applying measures to minimise the negative effects of a railway line on the environment through which it passes.

Bird species assemblages in railway stations: variations along an urban-rural gradient

“…Though the noise from busy roadside traffic provides negative impact on many bird species (Rheindt 2003, Summers et al 2011, in our study, we did not observe any negative interactions with the train movements to their surroundings. Such bird species frequently observed in station areas did not react much in response to the noise made by the movement of trains through the station (Wiącek et al 2015(Wiącek et al , 2019(Wiącek et al , 2020. In the present observations, the railway stations across urban-rural gradient appear to bear a positive impact on the bird species assemblages.…”

“…The power lines, over bridge pillars, station railing borders, lamp posts possibly provide the suitable sites for chasing the prey by carnivores and insectivores (Morelli et al 2014). The anthropogenic constructions somehow attract a large number of opportunist bird species by offering environmental heterogeneity (Morelli et al 2014, Kaiser-Bonk et al 2019, Wiącek et al 2019. In this study, it was evident that the anthropogenic structures can be utilized to attract species too effectively to increase diversity irrespective to urban-rural gradient.…”

“…The railway platform can also act as a good foraging ground for several species of birds and lastly, some birds utilize railway tracks as a resting site as it becomes heated rapidly during the day and thereby providing protection from cold and windy situations during winter (Morelli et al 2014, Wiącek et al 2015. All these factors render a positive effect on birds and possibly the reason why they are found in higher aggregations near rail-associated structures than in the deeper forest (Wiącek et al 2015(Wiącek et al , 2019(Wiącek et al , 2020.…”

Do railway lines affect the distribution of woodland birds during autumn?

“…For example, some research has indicated that despite anthropogenic pressure, many animals, including birds, live in the neighbourhood of humans and their infrastructure [16,28,29,30]. The areas around railway lines and their infrastructure offer favourable conditions for birds during the breeding season [5,16,30] migration (this study) and wintering [31]. The high diversity of habitats available in transport corridors is a particularly important factor encouraging birds to nest near railway lines.…”

“…We expected that birds would prefer the vicinity of the line, as had been the case during the breeding season [5]. Therefore the alternative hypothesis assumed that, in view of the positive effects of the railway that we noted in previous studies, we should expect increasing numbers and species richness of birds in its vicinity [5,31].…”