With a new project, we want to close the knowledge gap about the interaction between migratory songbirds and offshore wind farms. Most songbird species migrate at night, which makes visual detection difficult; species identification or differentiation from bats or insects has also been very limited to date. Using the innovative radio telemetry method of the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, the flight behaviour of songbirds in offshore wind farms will be tracked for the first time. In this way, we want to determine the reaction of songbirds to wind farms and their broader flight routes. Four offshore wind farms in the so-called ‘Helgoland Wind’ (HelWin) cluster north of Helgoland serve as the study area. Based on the results, measures to reduce potential negative impacts on songbirds will be developed in collaboration with wind farm operators. The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU, ‘German Environmental Foundation’) is providing approximately 1.1 million € in research funding for this project.

Further information on this topic can be found here and on the DBU website.

A new study led by Wieland Heim uncovered negative effects of an anthropogenic fire on bird abundance and diversity during stopover. Previous studies have focussed on fire-effects during the breeding season, while fire impacts on birds during migration remained unknown. Management strategies should aim at limiting the extent of fires to sustain suitable stopover habitat patches.

Heim W, Hinninger L, Smirenski SM, Heim RJ (2025) Anthropogenic fire reduces migratory bird abundance and diversity at a stopover site. Scientific Reports.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-27464-1

In cooperation with RWE, we proudly announce the installation of the first MOTUS station in an offshore wind farm, at “Amrumbank West”, in Germany. This will help answering fundamental research questions about the movement and behaviour of small birds in an offshore environment and fill key knowledge gaps in environmental monitoring and management. We received tremendous support from the research group “Wind Energy Systems” at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg.

Exposure to anthropogenic pollution is a growing threat to wildlife. In cooperation with researchers from the Khon Kaen University in Thailand, we now investigated exposure to metals in the crictically endangered Yellow-breasted Bunting, a small songbird that breeds in northern Eurasia and migrates via China to wintering sites in South-East Asia. We found very high levels of zinc (Zn) in feathers of birds captured in Thailand, and zinc levels were negatively linked to body condition. Follow-up studies now need to investigate whether the elevated Zn exposure in Yellow-breasted Buntings is linked to mining activities or to the recent increase in Zn-biofortified rice planted in Asia to combat human Zn deficiency.

Sankamethawee W, Keithmaleesatti S, Simla P, Heim W (2025) Bioaccumulation of metals in a critically endangered migratory songbird, the Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: vgaf241 [https://doi.org/10.1093/etojnl/vgaf241]

On September 24, we tagged the first Yellow-browed warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) on Helgoland in 2025 to track his migratory behaviour. How long will he stay on the island? When will he depart and in which direction? And will there be detections on the mainland? These are the questions we study using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. Stay tuned for fascinating bird tracks!