As part of research conducted on an artificial island for birds in the Goczalkowice Reservoir – Ptasia Beczka, ornithologists analyzed garbage brought by black-headed gulls, terns and seagulls in 2021-2024. However, the results do not provide good information – most of the waste transported by birds is plastic and metal coming from human landfills.
What do birds transport?
Research on the bird island located in the Silesian sea has been conducted since the first breeding season – from 2021. Four-year analyzes of garbage collected as part of the LIFE.VISTULA.PL project allow us to categorize waste and indicate the most frequently brought waste – these are soft and hard plastic, metal, various types of threads and strings. An interesting aspect of the analyzes is the color of garbage brought to the island. These are primarily colorless or white materials (almost half of all waste) as well as blue, pink and metallic materials.
Unsecured landfills pose a threat to wetland birds
The good news is that waste is rarely used to build nests, for which birds preferred natural materials such as twigs and reeds. Plastic bags and food packaging come from places where birds get food. The material collected during the analyzes indicates a significant impact of human activity on waterbird colonies, especially since anthropogenic material is often consumed by birds, which poses serious threats to their health. Moreover, the conducted research also leads to a general conclusion that failure to protect landfills against bird feeding may contribute to increased microplastic contamination of aquatic environments.
The birds brought over 230 grams of waste to the breeding colony of 550 bird nests in 2024 (consisting of 3 species: black-headed gull, common tern, mediterranean gull).
Research on the bird island
Ptasia Beczka on the Goczalkowicki Reservoir is a completely new habitat for birds, inhabited since 2020. Scientific research is carried out there, including: regarding anthropogenic material that birds bring to the island. Research as part of the LIFE.VISTULA.PL project is conducted by Karolina Skorb from the Institute of Animal Systematics and Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Upper Silesian Ornithological Club.
