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Targeted Restoration Raised the Modelled Share of Functionally Connected Blackbird Breeding Habitat to 90.8% in Gijón

Male Eurasian blackbird standing on grass in Madrid, Spain
Conservation · Restoration

Researchers used VHF radio telemetry from 13 adult Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) in Gijón, northwestern Spain, to model breeding habitat and functional connectivity across the city. The birds were followed from March to May 2025 in three pilot areas, producing 714 independent locations. Each bird carried a small VHF radio transmitter, and researchers repeatedly located the signal with receivers to map where the bird moved and used the city. Functional connectivity describes how readily animals can move among habitat patches through the actual landscape, rather than simply how close those patches appear on a map.

Vegetation shaped both habitat use and the baseline network

Blackbirds were more likely to use cells with greater woody and herbaceous vegetation cover and less likely to use areas with more buildings or heavier traffic. Under current conditions, the model identified 146.9 ha of suitable breeding habitat, but only 47.7 ha—32.5%—was functionally connected.

Targeted restoration gave the largest gain per intervention

The researchers then modelled three restoration scenarios. Adding 25 km of small vegetated connectors along streets did not increase the total amount of suitable breeding habitat, but raised the connected share to 82.2%. A targeted scenario combining those connectors with restoration of 50 ha of strategically selected public green areas increased suitable breeding habitat to 169.6 ha, of which 90.8% was connected, and produced the highest connectivity gain relative to the extent of intervention.

Restoring 250 ha of public green infrastructure produced the largest absolute gains: 286.5 ha of suitable breeding habitat, with 91.4% functionally connected. Its efficiency was nevertheless lower than in the targeted scenario, indicating diminishing returns as restoration expanded. The authors therefore argue that the spatial placement of urban restoration can matter as much as its total extent. These are modelled outcomes based on blackbird movement data, not measurements of connectivity following actual implementation of the restoration scenarios.

Sources and image credit

  1. de Gabriel Hernando, M., Fuertes Marcos, B., & Suárez-Seoane, S. (2026). Blackbird movements and habitat selection inform restoration of functional connectivity across cities. Landscape and Urban Planning, 276, 105737Primary open-access peer-reviewed study. VHF telemetry from 13 adult blackbirds in Gijón was used to model breeding habitat, functional connectivity and three restoration scenarios. The full text reports 32.5% connected breeding habitat at baseline, 82.2% with street connectors, 90.8% under targeted restoration and 91.4% under full restoration; targeted restoration had the highest gain per modified cell.
  2. Landscape and Global Change LAB — PublicationsResearch-group publication list containing the article by 2 August 2026; used to document that the paper was publicly listed in August 2026.

Image: Luis García (Zaqarbal) — male Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) photographed on grass in Madrid, Spain, 11 May 2014; Wikimedia Commons. Representative Spanish urban-green-space image; not one of the 13 blackbirds tracked in the Gijón telemetry study. · CC BY-SA 3.0 ES · Source

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