20 years breeding bird monitoring – NABU BW and LUBW

Volunteers collect important data for political advice

1. June 2023 – For the past 20 years, the stocks of common and widespread breeding birds have been recorded in Baden-Württemberg every year. From mid-March to the end of the breeding season, ornithologists swarm out to all parts of the southwest. You listen, observe and record the stocks of breeding birds from A for blackbird to Z for chiffchaff on more than 300 areas during the “monitoring of frequent breeding birds (MhB)”. On behalf of the LUBW Baden-Württemberg State Institute for the Environment, the NABU bird protection center in Mössingen coordinated the volunteers right from the start.

Long-term data series is a solid basis for political advice

“Today, the continuously collected data is an important basis for the planning and implementation of targeted protective measures and a good success control. The database is a solid basis for statements on population trends and the development of species diversity of native breeding birds. We need this to fulfill our task of providing political advice,” explains Dr. Ulrich Maurer, President of the LUBW Baden-Württemberg State Institute for the Environment, on the occasion of twenty years of cooperation. “I expressly thank the NABU bird protection center for the good cooperation and for the solid preparation of the ornithologists for this task. Without the great commitment, monitoring across the board would be unthinkable,” emphasizes Maurer.

The data and evaluations are also included in the recently published 7th version of the red list of breeding birds in Baden-Württemberg flowed in. The data is also transferred to nationwide and Europe-wide evaluations by the umbrella organization of German avifaunists. They are also required by the state of Baden-Württemberg for national reporting under the EU Birds Directive.

Balance for the domestic breeding birds is mixed

Johannes Enssle, State Chairman of NABU Baden-Württemberg, looks back on the results of the monitoring and draws a mixed conclusion for the frequent breeding birds in Baden-Württemberg: “Some of the bird species that used to be frequent are declining in population so much that the designation frequent breeding birds no longer fits. The skylark has suffered dramatic population declines across Europe. Just 20 years ago, her lovely song was almost omnipresent over meadows and fields. The number of greenfinches, serins and tree sparrows has also fallen sharply. The monitoring makes the extent of these population changes in our ‘everyday species’ visible. It is the task of politics to stop the loss of biodiversity, for example by strengthening the species support programs, the ground breeding program or reducing pesticides, and thus to help endangered species get back on their feet.”

Total loss of 600 million birds in Europe

The total loss in Europe is around 600 million breeding birds since 1980. “That’s an enormous number and a warning for the ecological conservation status of nature as a whole,” explains Ingrid Stützle, ornithologist at the bird protection center. Certain pointer species also clearly indicate the loss of certain habitat types. “Whinchats and lapwings can only be found on ecologically valuable areas. These areas are becoming rarer and, accordingly, we unfortunately observe these bird species more and more rarely here,” explains Stützle.

Mistle Thrushes and Goldfinches are more common again

But there are also winners among the common breeding birds: mistle thrushes and goldfinches are showing strong or moderate increases across the country. They are examples of short-distance migrants and rather unspecialized species that are on average much less affected by declines than long-distance bird species and habitat specialists. Nationwide, the monitoring data also shows that the population of forest bird species has been recovering since 2010. The house sparrow is the most frequently recorded breeding bird species in Baden-Württemberg. Blackbirds, great tits, blackcaps and chaffinches rank further in the top five.

Bird experts wanted

A total of 400 areas in the country were designated for the monitoring of common breeding birds, representing the habitats of the south-west. The more of these areas are continuously recorded, the more meaningful are the results. “Anyone who can reliably identify and map all of our common breeding birds based on voice and shape has come to the right place. NABU is still looking for ornithologists in Baden-Württemberg who would like to volunteer for the coming years,” says Stützle. For the year 2024, 74 areas are still to be allocated. Interested parties can contact the NABU bird protection center at the e-mail address [email protected]. As recognition, participants receive an expense allowance, which increases significantly over the years.

Additional information:

NABU bird protection center Mössingen – breeding bird monitoring

7th version of the Red List of breeding birds in Baden-Württemberg

LUBW – Breeding bird monitoring in Baden-Württemberg

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