News: Short & sweet / archive
July to September 2026

Rare salt-tolerant plants and valuable habitats: a species survey confirms the importance of our salt marsh plot on Hiddensee.

A recent survey of plant species on our property on Hiddensee has impressively confirmed the high ecological value of the newly acquired land. In addition to numerous typical salt marsh species, several endangered plant species listed on the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Red List (RL M-V) were recorded.

Particularly noteworthy is the presence of several plant species associated with the ‘inland salt marshes’ habitat type (FFH habitat type 1340), which is protected throughout Europe. The unusual combination of wet meadow and salt marsh vegetation highlights the special ecological value of this rare biotope.

In addition, several endangered plant species listed on the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Red List have been recorded on our site. Notable flora sightings include, amongst others, Meadow Fleabane, Sea Centaury and Lesser Centaury. In addition, numerous butterfly species and other pollinating insects have been observed that use the diverse plant life as a habitat and food source.

The study also confirms the importance of adaptive land management. Extensive grazing and natural soil disturbance caused by root-digging wild boar repeatedly create areas with sparse vegetation, where less competitive, salt-tolerant plants can thrive over the long term. Without this natural dynamic, low-diversity reed stands would spread across our salt marsh area in the long run.

The latest results clearly demonstrate that the long-term conservation and professional maintenance of our newly acquired plot of land on Hiddensee are paying off.

We want to thank Prof. Dr Irmgard Blindow of the Hiddensee Biological Station, University of Greifswald, Kloster, for carrying out the species survey on 23.07.2026 on a voluntary basis.

Ongoing site management, including biotope optimisation and maintenance measures in the Frose wetland, is key to maximising biodiversity among birds, amphibians and dragonflies.

Recording the species of birds resting, breeding and roosting, and looking after visitors to our birdwatching tower were the main focuses of our site manager’s work in the spring and early summer.

His regular monitoring of the area has yielded numerous encouraging results. For example, no fewer than five pairs of Western Marsh Harriers have established their territories in the wetland, Bearded Reedlings have bred successfully, and Great Bitterns have also been observed on their foraging flights.

The breeding season was less successful for the Common Crane population, as its chicks unfortunately did not survive this year. Predators such as wild boar, raccoons and foxes regularly scour large areas of the reed beds in search of food.

During their moulting season, around 300 Greylag Geese used the wetland as a secure and well-protected refuge.

As early as spring, several species of duck, several Savi's warblers and also Bluethroats were recorded. Our birdwatching tower remains a major attraction for nature lovers, birdwatchers and bird photographers alike.

As the breeding season draws to a close, work begins on controlling neophytes – invasive alien plant species such as ‘Canadian Goldenrod’ and ‘Giant Hogweed’.

In 2022, with financial support from long-standing donors, our Foundation purchased a plot of hillside spring fen land covering approximately 0.7 hectares in the Ammergau Alps near Bad Kohlgrub, to protect the gentian, orchid and wild bee populations found there.

The Lady's Slipper that grows on our plot is a fairly long-lived species of orchid and, at 20–60 cm in height, is also the largest native orchid species. It has red to dark brown petals and a bright yellow ‘slipper’. This is what gave the orchid its German name. The plant is strictly dependent on calcareous soil.

The self-sterile Lady's Slipper relies almost exclusively on the mining bee of the genus Andrena for pollination. This species of bee requires habitats with sparse vegetation consisting of sand, sandy loam or silt, located no more than 500 metres from where the Lady's Slipper grows!

The greatest threat to this rare and (as yet) healthy Lady's Slipper population on our Foundation's property in the Ammergau Alps is the well-trodden path that has now developed there and the trampling caused by nature lovers interested in orchids, with the resulting damage to the roots. In the long term, this could have dramatically negative consequences for the vitality and future of this orchid site, which is home to up to 200 Lady's Slipper plants.

We will therefore be working with the relevant nature conservation authority and the Ammergau Alps Nature Park Association (Naturpark Ammergauer Alpen e. V.) to agree on specific measures in the near future to effectively protect our land and the valuable Lady's Slipper orchid population and will then implement these measures consistently.

Nine Little Owl chicks and several successful broods: our Little Owl conservation project is yielding encouraging results …

During this year’s Little Owl monitoring programme in the Paderborn District, our Little Owl conservation project manager made several encouraging observations. A total of five adult birds and nine Little Owl chicks were recorded in the nesting tubes we had installed. Our staff have never before documented so many Little Owls in the Paderborn region in a single day’s work.

The results confirm the success of our conservation work. Many of the Little Owl nesting boxes installed by the Foundation Pro Biodiversity since 2019 have already been taken up during the first breeding season – a clear indication that suitable nesting and breeding sites remain in short supply and that it makes sense to install more Little Owl nesting boxes in suitable locations.

The Little Owl chicks recorded in mid-June 2026 provided some interesting insights: experience suggests that young birds should already be fledged by mid-June, yet this year many of the chicks found were still covered in soft down. We suspect that the comparatively cool spring and the resulting food shortage delayed the start of breeding. The supply of mice now found in the nesting tubes and the excellent condition of both the adult and young owls suggest that food is currently plentiful.

The success of this monitoring programme once again demonstrates how important it is to combine nature-friendly habitat management, expert site selection, and regular checks of the nest boxes. Every successful record of breeding encourages us to continue our targeted efforts to support the Little Owl as a characteristic species of the pollarded tree and orchard meadow landscape in East Westphalia, with a view to further strengthening the Little Owl population.