Protect and promote Ducks - We build a breeding island for birds

The H&S Foundation is a young, non-profit, registered foundation with the aim of making a sustainable contribution to climate and species protection.  With the project "Breeding Island for Birds" we want to create a piece of habitat for water birds.

Nowadays, not only songbirds are threatened, but also many water birds. Continued encroachment on nature reduces suitable and protected nesting sites and breeding attempts in the riparian zone often remain fruitless, as immigrant species such as raccoons and tanuki empty the nests.

The breeding island offers protection from predators and is suitable as a breeding and resting place for various water birds such as common terns, ducks, geese, black-headed gulls, herons or swans. These can raise their offspring on the island in a natural environment. But other species also benefit from the project, as the acquisition of the water area and adjacent shore area secures and preserves a piece of nature in the long term.

The 3 m x 3 m breeding island will be placed in an old peat pond in the mill village of Saalow, south of Berlin. The breeding island construction is designed to blend in perfectly with the water body and to become a valuable habitat in the long term. For example, the island is made of regional wood and equipped with coarse-grained gravel; shelters and rootstocks offer protection from birds of prey.

The aim is to prepare the wood in late summer - autumn 2021 and start building the island. At the same time, secure the area contractually for the long term, so that the island can be placed in its final location in the peat cut in autumn - winter.