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71% of Northern Wheatear Nests Were in Peat Sods Stacked Crosswise and Lengthwise

Male Northern Wheatear on Ouessant, France
Research · Ecology

Northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) breeding in active peat-extraction areas in Lower Saxony, Germany strongly favoured a particular combination of nesting cavities and open ground. A study published in 2026 surveyed 26 randomly selected 45-hectare plots in Campemoor, Uchter Moor and Totes Moor, three raised bogs where peat was still being extracted.

Thirteen plots were occupied by wheatears and thirteen were unoccupied, with 28 breeding pairs recorded in the occupied plots. Twenty of the 28 nests, or 71.4%, were found in rows of peat sods stacked both crosswise and lengthwise. This arrangement created complex cavities with hidden chambers. The remaining eight nests occurred in tightly stacked sods, but all were in larger gaps created by one particular cutting machine. No nests were found in stacks that were arranged only crosswise and were open at both ends.

Open ground was the other key feature. Milled peat-extraction areas made up about 70% of home ranges — the broader areas used by the birds — and 80% of breeding territories, and were favoured at both scales. More than 70% of the immediate area around nests was open soil. Both open soil and cross-and-lengthwise stacked peat sods were associated with a higher probability of nesting. The authors link these conditions to easier access to arthropod prey and better visibility of potential predators.

The researchers recommend timing peat handling to reduce losses of active nests. They suggest restacking sods into suitable cross-and-lengthwise structures before the breeding season, by mid-April, and harvesting them after the breeding season from late July onwards. As peat extraction is phased out and former sites are restored, they also identify artificial nesting structures combined with extensive open, sparsely vegetated habitat as a management option worth evaluating, while noting that it remains uncertain whether substitute habitats can compensate for the loss of extraction sites at population level.

Sources and image credit

  1. Drung, M., & Fartmann, T. (2026). Peat extraction sites providing cavities and large areas of open soil favour a threatened songbird. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 7, e70294. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.70294Primary open-access research article first published 14 July 2026. In 26 plots across three active peat-extraction areas in Lower Saxony, 28 Northern Wheatear nests were recorded. Twenty nests (71.4%) occurred in cross-and-lengthwise stacked peat sods, and more than 70% of the immediate area around nests was open soil. Both open soil and suitable peat-sod stacks predicted nest occurrence.

Image: Male Northern Wheatear on Ouessant, France. Photo: Jean-Jacques Boujot / Wikimedia Commons / Flickr. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source

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