The weekend’s storms and flooding have had a significant impact on wildlife, with swallows particularly hard hit, according to the bird conservation organisation BirdLife.
Heavy rain prevented insects from flying, cutting off the food supply for swallows, which are insectivores, resulting in the deaths of thousands, BirdLife’s Eva Karner-Ranner told ORF. Swallows are now meant to be migrating south to Africa for the winter.
BirdLife has urged people not to disturb gatherings of swallows sheltering under roofs or similar locations, as this would cause them to spend more energy.
Any birds found grounded and unable to fly should be placed in a box with air holes and taken to the nearest rescue centre.
“Snowfall at higher altitudes and prolonged snow cover could also affect other insectivores that primarily forage on the ground, such as black redstarts, robins, and song thrushes. However, these species have an advantage during autumn migration, as they can switch to a fruit-based diet, such as rowan berries,” Karner-Ranner explained.
The Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology also warned of a severe impact on wild mammals, predicting losses of up to 100% of brown hares in flooded areas.
Populations of foxes and badgers are likely to have been affected as well, particularly in areas surrounding Vienna. Even beavers, the Institute noted, would have struggled to survive the torrential rainfall in many places.