Consideration for feathered treasures

Created: 04/02/2022, 16:30

The little ringed plover feels comfortable in the gravel and finds food and breeding places here.

© Munich District Office

The district office is currently closing off the important breeding grounds for rare bird species in the Isar valley.

Visitors should be careful.

District

– Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, people have increasingly focused on recreation in their native nature.

Especially when the weather is nice, walkers and athletes in search of relaxation crowd into the local recreation areas, especially in the Isar valley, where they often enter important retreat and breeding areas for sensitive animal species.

The lower nature conservation authority of the district of Munich is therefore asking all citizens to be particularly sensitive and considerate, especially in the coming weeks.

Because of its closeness to nature and the large number of different closely interlinked biotopes, the Isar valley is home to a large number of rare species.

To protect the two bird species that are particularly sensitive to disturbance, the common sandpiper and the little ringed plover, suitable breeding sites between Schäftlarn Abbey and Buchenhain are marked with signs and lines.

There is an absolute ban on entering the closed breeding areas between March 15th and August 10th.

Important Habitat

Up until the 19th century, the floodplains of the Bavarian rivers were characterized by extensive gravel and sandbanks, which constantly changed their shape, extent and location due to frequent flooding.

The Isar transported large amounts of gravel from the mountains to the foothills of the Alps and deposited it in extensive floodplains along the course of the river.

Numerous animal and plant species have adapted to the wide, sparsely vegetated gravel banks and islands, where they find breeding and habitats.

Among them are gravel-nesting bird species such as little ringed plover and sandpiper.

With the expansion and straightening of the rivers and the construction of power plants, the picture changed dramatically.

Only a few gravel areas remained between the flood protection dikes, which also quickly covered with bushes due to reduced flood events.

The species specialized in open river meadows lost large parts of their habitats.

Today, people are aware of the high value of near-natural wild river meadows for habitat and species diversity as well as for recreation.

Already at the end of the 1980s, a change of course took place on the Isar, the river was given more space again.

Despite best efforts, the once abundant sandpiper and little ringed plover breeding sites are still extremely scarce.

In addition, the few breeding sites are in danger due to the rapidly increasing recreational use.

The results of the most recent Bavaria-wide population survey show how dramatic the situation is, especially for the common sandpiper.

While the population in Bavaria was already very low in 2012 with around 150 breeding pairs, it fell to less than 100 pairs in less than ten years by 2021.

A characteristic species of the Bavarian wild river landscape is threatened with extinction.

While the common sandpiper has almost completely disappeared along the northern and eastern Bavarian rivers, breeding occurrences can still be found on the Iller, Lech, Isar, Ammer and Tiroler Achen rivers.

The Isar is probably the most important remaining breeding area.

There are also only around 1,000 pairs of little ringed plovers left in Bavaria.

protect breeding grounds

The intensive leisure use on the gravel banks of the Isar by bathers and walkers as well as the landing of boaters pose a particular threat. In order to be able to protect the breeding sites in a targeted manner, the birds are therefore intensively observed from the beginning of the courtship display and the breeding areas in the period from March 15th marked with yellow signs and marking tapes until August 10th.

Recreation seekers are asked not to enter the closed breeding areas.

Waste left behind also poses a great danger. It attracts foxes to the gravel banks at night, which will not spurn a bird chick when they are looking for food.  

More info

Information on the subject of gravel breeders and the Isar is available from the Munich district office (e-mail: naturschutz@lra-m.bayern.de) and at www.alpenflusslandschaften.de/de/isar.html