Birds on roadside verges and the effect of mowing on frequency and distribution

The study, which was carried out both in the eastern and western parts of Denmark, describes the use made of roadside verges by birds, and makes a quantitative assessment of their importance. In addition, the influence of summer mowing on the birds was studied. The results show that different parts of the road verges are used for foraging and that the skylark Alauda arvensis more often forages on road sides than on the adjacent fields. The verges are also important as a nesting site for some species, for example the skylark, which prefers to nest in this habitat rather than in adjacent fields. Mowing in summer has no decisive effect on the number of birds or their distribution on road verges.