The potential virtue of garden bird feeders: More birds in citizen backyards close to intensive agricultural landscapes

Farmland bird abundances have been declining for decades, an erosion associated with agricultural changes. Main drivers have already been identified: intensification of practices, modification of landscapes, leading to impoverished summer and winter food availability. In parallel, winter bird feeding in private gardens became a common practice. Such a food supplementation may represent a bonanza for seed-deprived bird communities. Using data collected by citizen providing food to wintering birds in > 1100 backyards, we analyzed the temporal and spatial trends in abundance of 30 species at feeders during four core winters periods and along a gradient of local agriculture intensification. Garden feeders located within intensively cultivated landscapes attracted more birds, the relationship being strongest for farmland species. We further found a temporal trend which strengthens this pattern as the winter progresses. These results confirm that supplying winter food to garden birds has not only a recreational value, but can also improve bird numbers hence probably winter survival rates, chiefly in intensive agricultural