The farm where wildlife thrives
A naturalist has helped an organic farm to create a harmonious haven in the fields of Wiltshire where the endangered Corn bunting thrives
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AS THE SUN rises over gentle undulations of rye, barley and oats around the village of Hindon, in Wiltshire, there is the vibrant sound of birdsong. The chirp of sparrows and finches carries on the July morning breeze, as does the trill of far less common species, such as the skylark, linnet and yellowhammer. But, perhaps even more notable in this exultant chorus is the jangling cry of the Corn bunting. Here, on Lower Pertwood Organic Farm, populations of this sturdy, sparrow-like bird are defying a nationwide decline. In fact, since Wilfred Mole bought the 2,600-acre organic site in 2007, and particularly within the past three years, numbers of Corn bunting have almost doubled.
The reason behind this success lies in part with a freelance naturalist, named Nick Adams, who, in 2014, was commissioned by Wilfred to help promote flora and fauna of all kinds on the farm, while retaining a financially viable yield. Instead of choosing between wealth and wildlife, a dilemma faced by many farmers across the UK, Wilfred was determined to prove that farmland could be rich in both.
Surprise discovery
“There were a lot of good intentions being put into practice, but with what seemed to be little structure.” says Nick, recalling one of his first visits to Lower Pertwood, which is part of Natural England’s Higher Level Stewardship scheme. “Some areas of grass were being kept short to promote downland flowers, such as common rock-rose, horseshoe vetch and chalk milkwort, but in parts of the farm that were actually more suited to supporting deer, which prefer long grass. My role was to maximise nature’s potential across every part of the farm.”
But with his RSPB background, it was one particular aspect of Lower Pertwood’s wildlife that caught Nick’s attention from the start, and which would provide the focus of his conservation work: the Corn bunting.
“As a species that had experienced a 90 per cent decline in the previous 25 years or so, I couldn’t believe the numbers of Corn bunting that were present on the site,” he says, the initial surprise and excitement still evident in his voice. “There were 300-400 of them here and 134 territories. I realised this must be one of the top breeding sites in the UK.
“When a species is in decline, such as the Corn bunting, it can be compared to the tide going out and leaving rock pools. Once those rock pools become isolated, that’s what you’ll be left with: isolated populations. Lower Pertwood could be described as one of the deepest rock pools in the country, so it’s important to ensure it stays deep by supporting the current populations there. In time, perhaps, it might be possible to spread the numbers out towards other sites, but we need to work in those places where there are still Corn buntings, rather than trying to get the bird to reappear in areas where there are none.”
Slowing the decline
Much of the reduction of nationwide bird populations can be connected to changes in land use and agricultural practices. For the Corn bunting, this relationship is particularly clear: the bird nests on the ground, among crops, and breeds towards the end of May and early June; a common harvest time.
“However, Wiltshire is, by average height, the highest of England’s counties, and harvests traditionally take place later,” explains Nick. “And organic crops are harvested later still.”
Those extra weeks make a big difference. For Lower Pertwood, which is both in Wiltshire and organic, harvesting often does not occur until mid July or, for the likes of spring oats, mid August. This means that female Corn buntings can produce not just one brood, which is enough to sustain a population, but the two broods needed to grow it.
Likewise, clover leys, often used on organic farms to boost soil fertility, are cut for silage during the Corn bunting breeding season. But, at Lower Pertwood, in fields where Nick had already identified as many as 23 breeding territories, two alternatives to the standard mid June cutting were trialled. In some fields, Wilfred Mole left the clover leys uncut until July, when, as soon as the first brood was fledged, he cut it to make hay. In others, the clover leys were cut in May, before nesting. This meant a lower yield, but enough time for the crop to regrow sufficiently to provide a nesting spot. Wilfred then took a hay cut in July, after the second brood had fledged.
“Rich music breathes in Summer’s every sound; And in her harmony of varied greens, Woods, meadows, hedge-rows, corn-fields, all around Much beauty intervenes”
John Clare, ‘Summer Images’
“The farm took a financial hit to help the Corn bunting, because silage earns more than hay,” says Nick. “But that’s what this all comes down to: how much is the Corn bunting, or wildlife as a whole, worth?”
Nature provided an answer: from six breeding territories in just one of these fields in 2015, by 2018, there were 15.
“When you realise that you have a responsibility to wildlife to provide the food and habitats they need to thrive, you are better placed to plan your crop rotations accordingly and not be over-hasty in preparing lands,” says Wilfred.
Food shortage
Other land management tweaks, implemented by Nick, revolved around food. Like many farms, Lower Pertwood, which neighbours commercial game shoots, would see a surge of farmland birds, plus pheasants and partridge, after the end of the shooting season. This can trigger a ‘hunger gap’.
“A lot of species rely on the feed being given to game birds during shooting season,” says Nick. “So, when this supply stops, they have to search for food elsewhere.”
Wilfred already left his winter stubble unploughed, to be sheep grazed until April, which is a common weed control practice on many organic farms, and one that is beneficial in creating both habitats and foraging spots. But there was still not quite enough to meet this added avian demand.
Nick pauses to watch a bumblebee rubbing itself on a butter-yellow sunflower head. Next to this flower is another, followed by many more. In fact, there are more than 8 acres of sunflowers growing here. There are also strips of phacelia, poppies and cornflowers, flowing like floral rivers across Lower Pertwood. These beautiful fields of colour were not the idea of Nick this time, but of Wilfred himself, who wanted to attract pollinators to his land, to see if he could produce his own organic sunflower seeds for the muesli he makes.
“These flowers also provide an important winter food source for birds, so everyone wins,” says Nick. In addition, because Wilfred was selling his cereals cleaned, by removing the chaff, he had tailings that could be scattered in open areas alongside tracks where the Corn buntings were.
In just three years, this hard work paid off. Corn bunting populations and breeding territories at Lower Pertwood increased by 87 per cent, to 600 and 235 respectively.
Wild new world
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Nick began to notice a difference in other avian populations at Lower Pertwood. Numbers of high conservation concern, or Red-listed, birds, including the yellowhammer, skylark and linnet, also increased, with winter figures peaking at approximately 600, 1,000, and 2,000 respectively. He also noted seven territories of Marsh tit. Barn owls and kestrels, whose fledgling numbers had been variable, also boasted good breeding seasons.
“The heart that has truly loved never forgets, But as truly loves on to the close, As the sunflower turns on her god, when he sets, The same look which she turned when he rose” Thomas Moore, ‘Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms’
Wilfred then came up with the idea of creating a feeding spot for these birds. “He dumped a ton of grain in the middle of a field and surrounded it by bales of hay,” says Nick. “Essentially, by doing this, he created a place where mice and rats could live. We then put up a perch nearby so the owls and kestrels could sit and keep watch for their supper.”
Deer, hare, badgers, foxes, Harvest mice, honeybees and myriad other insects also call the organic farm home. “One of Lower Pertwood’s greatest attributes is its size,” says Wilfred. “It is big enough to be a complete world for some wildlife species, particularly birds, rodents, stoats and hedgehogs.”
Nick is hoping that other bird species might eventually arrive on the farm, including lapwings and Turtle doves. “There are practically none left in Wiltshire,” he says. “In those instances, our rock pool might be too far gone. We can only hope those populations of Norfolk and Suffolk can be expanded enough to bring them back here.
“Pertwood is an example of how the smallest of changes to land management can have an overwhelming knock-on effect,” he continues, running his fingers through the feather-like fronds of sun-kissed wheat. “Everyone can do their bit.”
“I suppose you could say we’re rebels,” says Wilfred. “But by letting nature set the pace of farming, you really can be quite profitable. Just look to agriculture before the First World War: there was no mechanisation, no chemicals, no highly-bred seeds and no fertilisers, but those farmers still fed the nation.”
And that is the beauty of this partnership: Nick’s expertise and knowledge alongside Wilfred’s enthusiasm and willingness to give anything a go. The result is not just an abundant organic farm that produces award-winning muesli, but a wildlife haven and safeguard for many rare species, all working in natural harmony. It is a situation where everyone wins.
CONTACT pertwood.co.uk
“I heard a bird so sing, Whose music, to my thinking, pleased the King”
William Shakespeare, Henry IV Part II