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Could scourge of plastic pollution be killing off our beloved blue tits? (www.dailymail.co.uk)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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They are a mainstay of the Scottish countryside, delighting people as they flit from branch to branch.

However, plastic pollution could be killing off the next generation of blue tits.

Scientists have discovered that blue tits in Glasgow are using 50 times more man-made litter to make their nests than their country cousins on the shores of Loch Lomond.

Research has found that chicks are less likely to survive when their early days are spent among detritus such as netting and fibres from tennis balls.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Yes! Why do you there is suddenly commercials saying "cats kill 4 billion birds a second, totally not climate change and environmental pollution."

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Scientists have discovered that blue tits in Glasgow are using 50 times more man-made litter to make their nests than their country cousins on the shores of Loch Lomond.

Research has found that chicks are less likely to survive when their early days are spent among detritus such as netting and fibres from tennis balls.

Moss and grass are vital in successfully fledging chicks – but such natural bedding is in increasingly short supply when birds breed in urban areas.

Dr Viola Ross-Smith, science communications manager of the British Trust for Ornithology, said: ‘Any finding of adverse effects of anthropogenic activities on our wildlife is of concern.’

Last year, Glasgow University researchers identified 64 blue tit nests, 31 of them from six sites in the city and the other 33 were retrieved from woods on the east shores of Loch Lomond.

All contained a mixture of natural materials, but almost three-quarters were partly built with human litter – a figure which rose to 90 per cent in nests that had been in the city.

The original article contains 283 words, the summary contains 174 words. Saved 39%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!