Effects of human disturbance on spatial and temporal feeding patterns of Blackbird Turdus merula in urban parks in Madrid, Spain

We studied how human presence in three urban parks in Madrid (Spain) might affect Blackbird densities by changing feeding behaviour patterns. Our spec ific purposes were: (a) to ascertain the effect of park visitors on Blackbi rd feeding behaviour; (b) to analyse the influence of human disturbance on foraging success; and (c) to determine how humans affect Blackbird spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use. Pedestrians were the main source of f lushing responses in ail sampled parks, followed by Magpies Pica pica and d ogs accompanying visitors. Blackbird responses to visitors entailed more ti me being vigilant and moving away from people and less time searching for f ood (decreasing food intake), a response that remained constant in the thre e parks. The number of pedestrians was positively correlated with Blackbird distance to pathways and negatively correlated with distance to protective cover. The number of active birds decreased with increase in the number of pedestrians during the day. Blackbird density was negatively related to th e number of visitors per park. Our results confirmed that human disturbance negatively affects Blackbird feeding strategies in urban parks, ultimately modifying spatial and temporal patterns of habitat selection and abundance . Since such responses could also affect densities of other urban species b y the same process, we propose some management measures to decrease the lev els of disturbance as well as to enhance the recreational use of urban park s.