The Jackdaw-Projekt in the City of Neumünster

Abstract

The removal of masoned chimneys from blocks of flats in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in a decline of the breeding population of the Jackdaw in Neumünster, Schleswig-Holstein. Initiated by surveys of Jackdaws in the town by H. Schwarten, the local nature conservation authority started installing nest boxes in 1997. The boxes were installed close to existing Jackdaw colonies in the majority of cases. Most of the boxes were accepted by the Jackdaws, the number of nest boxes and of sites were continuously increased in the subsequent years. Thus the decline of the breeding population could be stopped and a rise in the number of breeding Jackdaws could be achieved.