Großtrappe Schleswig-Holstein

The great bustard inhabits expansive open landscapes. Originally a bird of Eurasian steppes on rich black-earth soils, in Central Europe it now occupies open arable land, extensively used grassland, agricultural mosaics and set-aside areas. It needs large, unobstructed habitats without vertical structures so that it can detect disturbance from far away. Cocks reach body lengths of around 105 centimetres and wingspans up to 240 centimetres, hens stay considerably smaller at up to roughly 5 kilograms. The species is well known for the spectacular display of cocks, which fluff their white plumage into a striking ball-like shape during the spring lek.

The population status in Germany is dramatic. After decades of decline the species reached an all-time low of around 57 birds in 1997, restricted to a handful of remnant populations. The main drivers were agricultural intensification, the loss of open arable landscape, clutch losses through farm machinery, predation and collisions with overhead power lines. Sustained conservation work, carried in large part by the Förderverein Großtrappenschutz together with EU LIFE and ELER funded projects, allowed the German population to recover to several hundred birds by the 2020s. Measures include clutch protection, hand-rearing and release of young, extensive grassland and fallow management, undergrounding or marking of power lines and active predator management.

For hunters the great bustard is not a quarry species. It does not fall under federal hunting law but under nature conservation law and remains under year-round full protection. The species becomes relevant where shooting grounds border bustard reserves or active populations. Hunters then contribute primarily through habitat care, the creation and preservation of fallows and flower strips, careful timing of mowing and effective predator management, helping to stabilise this iconic bird of the open agricultural landscape.