Skip to main content
The Swift

Legal Situation

General Information

Common Swifts are colonial breeders. They breed in larger groups on a building or in the immediate vicinity. Anyone who wants to protect Common Swifts must always expect multiple nests. If part of a colony is destroyed, the entire colony is massively disturbed. Common Swifts that have become homeless may try to fly into still existing but occupied nesting sites, resulting in breeding site fights. Both combatants can sustain serious injuries.
Common Swifts nest high on buildings, usually at the edges of buildings: behind downpipes and drainpipes, in wooden eave boxes, at the top of wall crowns, in roller shutter boxes, under window sills, under roof tiles, at the verge...; their nests are not visible from outside, but you can observe the entries of Common Swifts especially in the evening hours.
All building breeders and their nesting sites are legally protected year-round, i.e., even when they are not breeding in our buildings or when they are not in Europe in winter. In detail:

According to the European Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive of the European Union and the Birds Directive, building breeders as part of the "European bird species" are treated equally to strictly protected species with regard to species protection prohibitions. (see the European Birds Directive 79/409/EEC, which came into force on 15.02.2010 (Directive 2009/147/EC)). Through the implementation of the nature conservation laws of the federal government and the states, their populations are to be permanently preserved. § 44 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act is decisive.

Paragraph 1 states:

§ 44 Para 1 BNatSchG (Extract)

It is prohibited to,

  1. pursue, catch, injure or kill wild animals of specially protected species or to remove, damage or destroy their developmental forms from nature,
  2. significantly disturb wild animals of specially protected species and European bird species during breeding, rearing, molting, overwintering and migration periods; a significant disturbance exists if the conservation status of the local population of a species deteriorates due to the disturbance,
  3. remove, damage or destroy breeding or resting places of wild animals of specially protected species from nature.
  4. (...)

For Common Swifts, this means:

During renovations or demolition of a building or part of a building as well as during gutting, neither the clutch with eggs nor a clutch with young birds may be removed, nor may the breeding birds be hindered when flying in and out. Holes in the building used by Common Swifts as breeding sites may not be closed. Construction work may only take place on the affected part of the building after the young birds have fledged. It is not a theoretical assumption that counts ("Common Swifts are usually in Germany between May and mid-July") but the actual presence of young animals.

In the context of renovation projects, no animals or eggs may be harmed.

Breeding birds may not be disturbed by the work in such a way that breeding is hindered or abandoned and the young or eggs die, or that the breeding site is permanently abandoned – as a rule, this means that renovation work on buildings with breeding birds must be carried out outside the breeding season.
There is year-round protection for breeding, resting and sleeping places if the animals are site-faithful. This refers to animals that return to the same breeding site every year. Common Swifts are extremely site-faithful. They meet their breeding partner at the same nesting site every year. The quarters of Common Swifts may therefore not be damaged, destroyed, removed or closed even during the absence of the animals.

The Lower Nature Conservation Authority of your municipality is usually responsible for compliance with applicable nature and species protection law. You report an observed illegal attack on building breeders to them. It is helpful if you can provide detailed information about where the breeding sites are or were. If you have taken photos, it is easier for the authority to act, because with them you can prove where and that Common Swifts or other building breeders have nested there.

Anyone who violates § 44 BNatSchG commits an administrative offense. This applies to everyone who acts directly or indirectly, i.e., not only the builder, but also the commissioned architect, site manager or the executing craftsmen. According to § 69 Para. 7 in conjunction with § 69 Para. 1 BNatSchG, these can be fined up to €50,000. In addition, in many cases not only is a construction stop imposed, but also the reversal of construction measures is required, such as the dismantling of scaffolding parts, the removal of tarpaulins and dust nets or the restoration of openings.

I want to renovate my house, renovate my facade, carry out energy improvements or demolish a building. That cannot be prohibited!

Of course, repair work and modernization of buildings are necessary, and of course buildings may be demolished – but the project must be compatible with species protection law.

Only in very rare cases may a construction project not be carried out at all. Almost always a solution or compromise can be found that enables the measure.

Therefore, it is necessary to consider the topic of "species protection" already when planning a construction or renovation project. Only in this way can unnecessary trouble, stress and unnecessary costs be avoided.

How can one proceed?

  1. Is species protection affected by my planned project at all? Does a protected animal species live on the building?
    Not every owner is aware that they have animal subtenants. Common Swifts, for example, can be very discreet when flying into a niche. Also, not every owner lives in the building in question. Often, however, neighbors or tenants observe the animals. It makes sense to contact people on site in good time and ask about such observations.
    For large projects, it makes sense to inspect and assess the buildings with commissioned building biologists in the year before a renovation or demolition is planned.
    If species protection is affected, an exemption permit according to § 67 BNatSchG must be applied for from the responsible authority. This then specifies the conditions under which the construction measure may take place. The authority checks
  2. whether and how impairments for building breeders and their habitats can be avoided;
  3. if this is not possible, how to prevent the animals from being harmed. Often the construction measure is postponed to a time after breeding and after raising the young. However, it may also be possible to carry out only parts of the construction measure later, i.e., to start at places where no animals are endangered.
  4. If habitats cannot be preserved, replacement must be created. For Common Swifts, these should be positioned as close as possible to the original entry points. Common Swifts are extremely site-faithful and fly exactly to the place where they have always entered when returning from Africa. They only adapt with difficulty.

If closing or removing a nesting site is necessary during modernization or building demolition, an exemption permit must be applied for from the responsible authority. Which authority is responsible can be found in the nature conservation law of the respective federal state. In Hesse, the Lower Nature Conservation Authority is responsible. The UNB can grant a nature conservation exemption according to § 67 Para. 2 BNatSchG from the prohibition according to § 44 BNatSchG. Only with this permit may a nest site in which there are currently no eggs or animals be closed. The permit is usually associated with conditions such as creating replacement nesting sites or restoring the nesting site.

"I love Common Swifts! I live on the 4th floor, am a tenant and would like to install Common Swift nest boxes above my balcony. Am I allowed to do that?"

You should discuss this with your landlord. Once a nest box is occupied, it is protected under § 44 BNatSchG. This may result in a legal dispute with your landlord.

"I observed the neighbors having holes at the top of the facade sealed with construction foam. I know that Common Swifts breed behind them!"

Report this action immediately to both the police and the environmental authority of your municipality, and if in doubt, also to the official veterinarian. This is not only an administrative offense under the Federal Nature Conservation Act, but also an offense under the Animal Welfare Act. If the animals are harmed, this is even a criminal offense. Insist on immediate action, because there is a danger that the Common Swifts and their chicks will starve, die of thirst or suffocate, and the plumage may also be stuck together.

"Common Swifts breed behind our gutter. Every year chicks fall out of the nest. May I close the entrance and hang an artificial nest box in its place?"

Not every place that Common Swifts choose for breeding is also suitable for raising chicks. Nevertheless, the place behind your gutter represents a breeding site that is protected year-round according to § 44 BNatSchG. Call the environmental office of your municipality and describe the problem. I am sure a permit will be granted. The replacement nesting site should hang as precisely as possible at the place where the Common Swifts are used to entering. Perhaps you will hang several nest boxes? And of course you have to wait with the measure until the Common Swifts have departed.

"I have a building permit! I should be allowed to build and change my house as it was approved!"

You may only do so if species protection concerns were explicitly named in your building permit. As a rule, this is not the case. Species protection must be observed independently by the builder or their representatives.

There are many sources of information on legal issues related to building breeder protection on the internet. Many cities, districts and municipalities have created fact sheets and brochures for their citizens dealing with construction measures and building breeder protection. BUND, NaBu and LBV have also published brochures and information material on the subject. Some links can be found below (viewed on 8 JUN 2018), often suitable contacts are already named. The list does not claim to be complete. No responsibility is assumed for the content. The order of links is random.

Links

https://www.bfn.de/themen/artenschutz/regelungen/vogelschutzrichtlinie.html

https://www.bund-nrw.de/themen/tiere-pflanzen/alle-tiere-pflanzen/artenschutz-an-gebaeuden/gesetzliche-grundlagen/

http://www.bremische-buergerschaft.de/dokumente/wp19/land/drucksache/D19L1594.pdf

https://www.ris-muenchen.de/RII/RII/DOK/SITZUNGSVORLAGE/2594523.pdf

https://www.remscheid.de/leben/medienpool/dokumente020/1.31.5_Broschuere_Waermedaemmung-Artenschutz.pdf

http://www.wessobrunn.de/media/files/schwarzes_brett_2017/Merkblatt_Artenschutz_am_Haus_Gebaeudebrueter_Fledermaeuse_fertig.pdf

http://www.siegen-wittgenstein.de/media/custom/2170_1141_1.PDF?1443093508

https://www.ingolstadt.de/media/custom/465_8474_1.PDF?1520271516

http://www.artenschutz-am-haus.de/haeufige-fragen/von-handwerkern.html

https://berlin.nabu.de/stadt-und-natur/lebensraum-haus/artenschutz/gesetzlicher-schutz/index.html

http://www.gebaeudebrueter.de/projekte/schutz/renovierungen/index.html

https://www.lbv-muenchen.de/unsere-themen-lbv-muenchen/artenschutz-an-gebaeuden-lbv-muenchen/schutzmassnahmen.html

http://www.gruenstifter.com/informationen/artenschutz-am-gebaeude/rechtliche-verpflichtungen-gebaeudebrueter