A YORK University lecturer will have her work broadcast on this year’s series of Autumnwatch.

Dr. Kathryn Arnold, a bird biologist who lectures at the university, spent a day with presenter Michaela Strachan filming starlings following the lecturers research in to the affect Prozac has on the birds.

Dr Arnold has been looking in to how pharmaceuticals at sewage works affects birds feeding there. She decided to focus on Prozac as it is commonly distributed in the UK and doesn’t break down easily.

After analysing starlings in captive which were given a dosage of Prozac replicating the amount they would have picked up at a sewage plant, Dr Arnold found that the feeding habits in the birds which were given Prozac changed dramatically.

She said: “The birds which were given Prozac snacked throughout the day rather than having a hearty breakfast like they should.

“This means that they wouldn’t get that energy store they need to survive the winter which is obviously very dangerous.”

Dr Arnold was contacted by the researchers at the BBC Two programme, which returns on Tuesday, October 28 for four days, who were interested to work with her on her findings.

She said: “We also found changes in their mating behaviour which could put them at risk in the wild.

“After talking to the researchers we filmed for a day with presenter Michaela Strachan at a sewage treatment works and then created some of the experiments on film. It was a pretty neat experience."