News: Short & sweet

29.10.2026, +++ Schmuggerow +++ Bouderath +++ Marsberg-Meerhof +++

Germany's Bird of the Year 2027: Our 40 species conservation structures now provide House Martins with safe nesting sites

A young House Martin peeks out of its nest under the eaves. Safe nesting sites on buildings are essential for the survival of these structure-nesting birds © U. Lillge

Welcome to our House Martins!

With the House Martin’s selection as Bird of the Year 2027, this species – now classified as ‘endangered’ on Germany’s Red List of breeding birds – is coming more firmly into the public consciousness, reinforcing the realisation that this migratory species, which seeks out human habitation, urgently needs the active and practical support of us all.

We are particularly delighted that House Martins have been breeding successfully in our Foundation's own species conservation structures in Schmuggerow (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Bouderath, and Marsberg-Meerhof (both in North Rhine-Westphalia) for many years now, and are successfully raising their young there.

At the same time, this fact shows that this endearing species of swallow is no longer thriving in our region. Many villages and towns in Germany have long since been without House Martins and Barn Swallows. Over the past 20 years, we have built 39 species conservation towers for birds that use buildings; unfortunately, House Martins use only three of these species-conservation towers as nesting sites. Nevertheless, we are currently erecting our 40th species conservation structure in Hönningen in the Ahr Valley, and from next spring onwards this will provide the House Martins still flying there with well-prepared nesting sites and a safe roof over their heads.

19.10.2026, +++ Schimmel's Ponds +++ Limbach-Oberfrohna +++ Saxony +++

Jack snipes use our Schimmel's Ponds as a resting and feeding site …

A Sand Martin is released back into the wild at our Schimmel's Ponds after scientific documentation © Dieter Kronbach

Valuable resting places and fascinating insights into bird migration …

Together with the ornithologist Jens Hering, our site manager Markus was once again out and about in our ‘Schimmel's Ponds’ nature reserve to assess the condition of the pond area following months of grazing by goats, cattle and water buffalo. Early October also marks the start of the period when Jack Snipes migrate south from their Russian breeding grounds. During their long flight, they have to stop off repeatedly in wetlands to replenish their fat reserves for the onward journey.

The two bird conservationists spotted nine Jack Snipes within an hour. With official permission, they caught and ringed five of these long-billed birds as part of a scientific monitoring programme. This time, none of the Jack Snipes were fitted with a tracking device as before, but there is still hope of recapturing such marked birds in future.

 As early as spring 2025, a total of 15 Jack Snipes had been captured in the Limbach-Oberfrohna area and fitted with transmitters. Five of these birds were recaptured in the autumn of the same year. The transmitters help document the birds’ migration routes more accurately. When a bird is recaptured, the transmitters are removed and later analysed at the University of Oldenburg.

The results of the scientific monitoring of songbird populations (IMS) using net trapping, ringing and recaptures confirm the great importance of our pond conservation area for bird conservation. The first report for 2026 shows that our Schimmel's Ponds serve as an important stopover site for migratory bird species between July and September.

Monitoring will continue in 2027 to further document trends in bird populations and migratory birds' use of the pond area.

12.10.2026, +++ Bielefeld +++ East Westphalia +++ NRW +++

Tree pruning saves pollarded willows – and the Little Owl, which is under threat in many places …

Big eyes, tiny resident: a Little Owl peeks out of its SPA nesting box © SPA

Effective Little Owl conservation begins before the nesting box is erected

Following the early summer checks on Little Owl nesting boxes – which yielded extremely encouraging results in terms of offspring – this year’s pollarded willow maintenance season can now begin on 1 October, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Nature Conservation Act. For our Little Owl expert Herbert, this means, above all, spending a lot of time out and about. Having concluded the necessary pollarded willow maintenance agreements with landowners in the districts of Gütersloh, Paderborn and Soest, Herbert coordinates the work of our volunteers and qualified tree-care contractors on site – come rain or shine – from the start of autumn until the end of the tree-pruning season on 28 February 2027.

For autumn and winter 2026/27, we have once again set ourselves ambitious targets in collaboration with Herbert, as part of our Little Owl conservation project in East Westphalia, which has now been running for four years. Despite rising wage and petrol and diesel costs associated with tree maintenance work, our action plan includes 767 pollarded willows in urgent need of maintenance, which will be professionally pruned.

This will safeguard important shelter and nesting sites for the Little Owl, as well as valuable habitat structures. Old, pollarded willows, with their large, gnarled and often hollow trunks, are valuable tree habitats that provide shelter and a home for up to 4,000 species of wildlife, including birds, beetles, wild bees, wasps, hornets, shrews, hedgehogs and even martens.