News: Short & sweet

19.06.2026, +++ Rhineland +++ North Rhine-Westphalia +++

Breeding bird surveys at our species conservation towers yield both positive and negative results …

Our species conservation tower in Firmenich provides up to eight different bird species with safe nesting and refuge sites. © SPA

Common Kestrels, Barn Owls, Jackdaws and House Sparrows make use of our species conservation towers – yet the decline in the populations of many structure-nesting birds is unmistakable …

As part of this year’s breeding bird surveys, staff from the Foundation Pro Biodiversity checked all five species conservation towers in the Rhineland. The surveys aim to document the current use of the nest box structures and to monitor long-term population trends among the bird species that breed there.

This year’s results once again demonstrate just how important such species-conservation structures have become in urban areas.

In the towers monitored, Common Kestrels, Barn Owls, Eurasian Jackdaws, Common Starlings, House Martins, House Sparrows, as well as Great Tits and Nuthatches – the latter not typically found nesting in buildings – were recorded.

A pair of Common Kestrels in the species conservation tower in Bouderath provided a particular surprise. The birds of prey had chosen a nest box designed for Jackdaws with an entrance hole measuring just eight centimetres as their breeding site. Common Kestrels usually use significantly larger entrance holes, around 15 centimetres in diameter. This makes it all the more astonishing that the pair of Kestrels nevertheless successfully settled in the comparatively small Jackdaw nest box. At least two young Kestrels, almost ready to fledge, were observed inside. An unusual but remarkable example of how increasingly more bird species are (having to) become flexible in their choice of breeding sites.

Unfortunately, our project staff observed significantly fewer Common Swifts, House Martins, House Sparrows and Common Starlings in the vicinity of the species conservation towers than in previous years. The reasons for this are varied, but increasingly threaten the species’ survival, ranging from the loss of suitable nesting and breeding sites to a massive decline in the insect population.

Whilst we can only influence the decline in insect populations to a limited extent, by creating permanent safe nesting, breeding, and refuge structures for numerous bird species, the species conservation towers of the Foundation Pro Biodiversity are making an important contribution to the regional population of native building-nesting birds.

05.06.2026, +++ Schimmels Teiche +++ Limbach-Oberfrohna +++ Saxony +++

There was great interest in our ‘Schimmel’s Ponds’ – more than 60 nature lovers took advantage of this rare opportunity to have a glimpse behind the scenes of our pond area species conservation project ...

The Reed Bunting is one of the characteristic bird species found in structurally diverse wetlands © M. Pfeifer

Over 60 interested visitors, lots of questions and strong support for the protection of biodiversity – a successful field trip to the Schimmel's Ponds

At the invitation of the Foundation Pro Biodiversity, a total of 64 nature enthusiasts took up the opportunity—offered just once a year—to explore the fenced-off core area of the Schimmel's ponds near Limbach-Oberfrohna during a guided tour lasting around an hour and a half on 30 May 2026.

Despite the forecast of thunderstorms, the weather was kind to us, and a large number of participants had already gathered before the event began. Following a brief introduction by our CEO, Roland Tischbier, and the ornithologist Jens Hering, the tour took us along the pond embankments directly into the project area, past five of the north-western ponds and the water buffalo grazing there.

Amidst the croaking of countless Common Water Frogs and accompanied by watchful Mute Swan parents with their cygnets, Tufted Ducks and, of course, Mallards and their ducklings, the project managers provided information on the habitat restoration measures implemented over the past 12 months, as well as on future plans for the further ecological enhancement of the Schimmel's ponds. Information on the successes achieved so far for birdlife, including sightings of rare species such as the Reed Bunting, Jack Snipe and Red Phalarope, also attracted great interest.

The overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants was very encouraging. Many expressly welcomed the conservation measures taken by the Foundation Pro Biodiversity, including the comprehensive enclosure of the core area, which provides the necessary peace and quiet for the water buffalo and goats roaming freely there (as landscape managers) and for the bird, amphibian, reptile and insect species found there to forage and reproduce.

For the Foundation Pro Biodiversity and its project partners, the event was heartening proof that interest in the comprehensive protection of our wetland area, which covers just under 12 hectares, is growing steadily in the region.

19.05.2026, +++ ‘Seeländereien bei Frose’ wetland complex +++ Saxony-Anhalt +++

A natural spectacle that is a rarity nowadays – Moor Frogs in the ‘Seeländereien bei Frose’ wetland complex demonstrate just how important and precious our intact wetland has become …

Moor Frog in the ‘Seeländereien bei Frose‘ wetlands during the brief spring courtship season © SPA

When the water ‘bubbles’ and an endangered amphibian species reveals its presence and all its vitality in the 'Seeländereien bei Frose' wetlands ...

The population of the Moor Frog in Saxony-Anhalt has declined significantly in recent decades. Drainage, habitat loss and increasingly dry periods are taking a heavy toll on this amphibian species. Today, the Moor Frog is classified as endangered in Saxony-Anhalt and has declined to just a few, mostly isolated remnant populations (see Saxony-Anhalt State Office for Environmental Protection, Red List).

This makes the recent observations in the ‘Seeländereien bei Frose’ wetland complex – which covers just under 75 hectares and of which our Foundation owns 32 hectares – all the more encouraging. At the beginning of April, up to 40 calling male Moor Frogs were observed here. This is thought to be one of the last stable populations in the region.

During the brief spawning season, the males take on a distinctive blue colour and attract attention with their soft, ‘bubbling’ calls – an impressive yet now rare natural spectacle that can only be observed in a few places.

However, the area's dynamics also highlight the vulnerability of this population. In recent years, a lack of rainfall just a few weeks after the breeding season has led to many water bodies drying up drastically. This jeopardises the reproductive success of an entire year.

Maintaining stable water levels is therefore crucial. Through targeted habitat restoration measures, the Foundation Pro Biodiversity aims to ensure water availability well into the summer months, thereby helping to stabilise the wetlands near Frose in the long term as a valuable habitat for amphibians, insects and water-dependent bird species.