Pop stars know that when they visit a city for a big performance, there will be a lot of inconveniences for the local residents - traffic congestion, noise, chaos. These residents include rare birds, who forced Ed and his team to move the show to another venue.
The bird(s) in question... the Skylark, a brown/beige, is protected by the German government. According to the Nature Conservation Union of Germany (NABU) estimates, the airport (near where Sheeran would play) is home to about eight to nine breeding pairs of Skylarks. NABU notes that in the face of unrestrained destruction of the breeding habitats, airports are still one of the safe spaces for the endangered species. It is this bird that has expelled Ed Sheeran from Germany’s Ruhr region.
Sheeran concert organizers announced Monday that due to the "uncertainties and concerns about the local bird population" in Essen, the pop star’s concert will be held instead at Düsseldorf’s Exhibition Centre on July 22nd. In other words, the birds have won.