German bird count reveals sharp declines for sparrows, swallows, and swifts, while finches recover

The results of Germany's largest citizen-science bird count, the 'Stunde der Gartenvögel' (Hour of the Garden Birds), paint a mixed picture for the country's avian population. Organized by the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), the event took place on the second weekend of May and saw roughly 56,000 participants reporting sightings from more than 38,000 gardens.

Declines in common urban species

Data revealed worrying trends for several species once considered ubiquitous in German settlements. The house sparrow, while still the most frequently reported bird, saw a 9 percent drop in sightings compared to the previous year. The tree sparrow fared slightly better but still recorded a 6 percent decline.

The house sparrow is still in first place on our list of the most reported birds, but it has suffered a loss of 9 percent compared to the previous year. Unfortunately, this continues the negative trend of recent years.

Even steeper losses were recorded for aerial insectivores. Sightings of the common swift plummeted by 25 percent, while house martin reports fell by 12 percent. NABU bird protection expert Martin Rümmler noted that both species are building-breeders and insect-eaters, suggesting that insect decline and bird-unfriendly building renovations may be driving factors. He also cautioned that some individuals may have returned from their wintering grounds later than usual.

These numbers must concern us. If such common species as the house sparrow are being reported less and less, this could be an alarm signal for the state of nature in our settlements.

A brighter outlook for finches

Not all trends were negative. Several finch species showed a marked recovery after a period of decline. The common chaffinch recorded a robust 14 percent increase in sightings nationwide, while the European greenfinch posted a 3 percent gain. Rümmler suggested that the earlier slump may have been linked to disease outbreaks, with the greenfinch suffering more heavily from trichomoniasis infections than the chaffinch. These pathogens spread primarily at feeding and watering stations.

Anyone who feeds birds should therefore pay strict attention to hygiene. It is best to use feeding columns and change the water daily.

Blackbird sightings remained roughly stable compared to 2025 levels.

Broader implications

Rümmler emphasized that the declines in common species like the house sparrow point to deeper environmental problems, primarily a lack of food and loss of habitat and living space in urban areas. The contrasting recovery of finches offers a note of cautious optimism, but the overall picture underscores the pressure on Germany's garden bird populations.