House martin named Bird of the Year 2027 in online vote as numbers fall

A swallow chosen in its absence

The house martin (Mehlschwalbe) is the Vogel des Jahres 2027, the bird of the year, after an online vote run by the Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) and the Bavarian Landesbund für Vogel- und Naturschutz (LBV). The two organisations announced the result on 15 October 2026. The swallow took 45.2 percent of the ballots, ahead of the Trauerschnäpper on 22.3 percent, the Kolkrabe on 15.2 percent, the Wasseramsel on 10.8 percent and the Kranich on 6.5 percent. More than 148,000 people cast a vote online, and more than 21,000 of them were in Bavaria. The house martin succeeds the Rebhuhn, which was the bird of the year for 2026.

NABU and LBV describe the winner as chosen in its absence, because the bird spends the winter in Africa south of the Sahara. It returns to Germany in early April to breed, and outside the breeding season it gathers in large flocks. The public has been able to vote online since 2021, but the two organisations set a shortlist of five candidates beforehand. The vote has been held for more than 50 years to draw attention to bird protection.

Why the species is endangered

Germany lists the house martin as endangered, and NABU's bird conservation expert Martin Rümmler says up to 770,000 breeding pairs still live in the country. The population is shrinking steadily, he said, and NABU points to several causes. Existing nests are destroyed illegally, and birds are chased away from buildings. Modern architecture leaves few nesting places, since the smooth outer walls of renovated buildings give the birds no hold for their nests. Sealed driveways and farm tracks also remove the mud puddles they need as building material, while the number of flying insects they feed on is falling.

Rümmler put the threat in direct terms.

Unfortunately, the new bird of the year is endangered.

Heat, two broods and nest building

Each nest can contain up to 1,500 mud pellets, which the birds collect from puddles and mix with saliva before building it piece by piece. House martins often raise two broods a year, which helps make up for a lost clutch or young birds that do not survive. Heat waves linked to climate change add another risk, because nests under roof edges can heat up strongly. NABU Baden-Württemberg's wildlife officer Martin Klatt said that this summer young swallows jumped out of their nests. For chicks that cannot yet fly, that can become a deadly trap.

What can help

Rümmler's advice for households is simple.

You can help the new bird of the year by tolerating its nests on your house.

Mud puddles in a yard or garden give the birds building material, and an insect-friendly garden attracts food. The city of Landshut installed artificial nests in 2024 to support house martins, and the measure apparently worked. The campaign slogan for the candidacy was 'Auf gute Nachbarschaft', a nod to the bird's close life beside people as a building breeder.