Bird sanctuary

Home of 40 endangered bird species

The 4,525 hectares of the European bird sanctuary "Nördliches Erdinger Moos" encompass the airport meadows around the two runways as well as the areas bordering the northern Erdinger Moos mainly to the north and east of the airport grounds. This corresponds to an area of 6,400 football fields.
40 threatened bird species find protected habitat in the area of "Nördliches Erdinger Moos", amongst others the Eurasian curlew, the lapwing and the blue-headed wagtail.

"Our airport meadows provide countless rare species of birds with plenty of space to spread their wings. In 2021, they were home to Bavaria’s most important curlew population with 107 breeding pairs." Nadja Braun, FMG: Conservation, Ecology, and Environmental Compatibility

The Eurasian curlew

Over 50 pairs of the Eurasian curlew regularly breed and successfully raise their young on the meadows alongside the runways each year. Only 500 breeding pairs of this species remain in Bavaria, which is why the Eurasian curlew is classified as being "threatened with extinction" (Level 1) on the Bavarian Red List. Over 95 percent of the entire Eurasian curlew population in the bird sanctuary are found on the Airport meadows inside the Airport perimeter.
The skylark

The skylark is a species found in open countryside and is a ground-nesting bird. Fast growing crops on intensively farmed land make the fields unattractive as nesting sites for skylarks. This has led to the skylark population in Bavaria being classified as endangered (Bavarian Red List: Level 3). Large populations continue to thrive, however, on the poor Airport meadows.
The lapwing

The poor airport meadows represent an ideal, undisturbed breeding area for the lapwing. Well over 100 breeding pairs can be found here each year. The lapwing is classified as highly endangered in Bavaria (Bavarian Red List: Level 2).
The corn bunting

The corn bunting is an inconspicuous bird that is more likely to be heard than seen. It is one of the ground nesting birds, and is a characteristic species in open agricultural landscapes. At the airport, the perimeter fence is used for singing and the mead- ows for breeding. The corn bunting has level 1 status on the Bavarian Red List (threatened with extinction).