CORN BUNTING
THE sad decline in our farmland birds is well documented; data from Defra, based on the monitoring of 19 breeding farmland bird species shows that there has been around a -50% population change across all these species since 1970.
In this period the populations of a group of 7 species known as “farmland generalists” species have changed by around -13% whilst the other 12 species which have a high dependency on farmland, known as “farmland specialists”, have shown a more dramatic change of -70% since 1970. However, within the “farmland generalist” species group there have been some significant population changes, both positive and negative; jackdaw populations have changed by +148% and woodpigeon by +122%, whilst greenfinches have shown a change of -46% since 1970, and of more concern the short-term change since 2010 is -40%.
The corn bunting, is a true “farmland specialist” species, and was once a very familiar sight and sound on our farmland, but has shown a dramatic population change of -90% since 1970, although since 2010 there has been no obvious change.
There was a very steep decline between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, with local extinctions across large sections of their former range. They are a non-descript looking bird with grey-brown upperparts with dark streaks and are around the size of a House Sparrow, and the male is larger, but otherwise the two sexes look familiar. The rump and tail feathers have darker grey markings, and the upper wing has dark brown feathers edged with grey.
They mainly eat seeds from weeds and grasses but during the breeding season they will also eat insects, spiders, caterpillars, slugs and worms and feed these to their young. The male’s song, issued loudly from hedgerow tops and bushes sounds like a jangling set of keys. A male corn bunting has been known to mate with up to 18 different females in a season. The female builds her grass nest on the ground in cereal fields, set-aside, grass field margins or unimproved grassland and incubates the eggs by herself. The male may help to feed the chicks once they have hatched.
Our farmlands used to be alive with this distinctive song accompanied by the songs of other farmland specialists such as yellowhammers and skylarks. Corn Buntings are now very scarce and rarely seen or heard within Nottinghamshire and whilst the songs of yellowhammer and skylark can still be heard on farmland both species have also shown a significant decline since 1970 albeit not so large as the corn bunting.
Farmers are being encouraged to undertake measures to increase the availability of food for corn buntings such as limiting the use of insecticides during the breeding season and the creation of grass margins around arable fields to increase food availability close to breeding sites.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, alongside our Business Partner Severn Trent Water are supporting farmers to enhance wildlife habitats across the landscape.
Severn Trent’s Great Big Nature Boost fund aims to create and improve habitat features as part of the UK’S Nature Recovery Network. When combined with the Wildlife Trust’s local knowledge and contacts the fund has real potential to contribute towards nature’s recovery.
A key aim of this fund available to farmers is to create nature corridors through farmland, working alongside farm businesses. With 70% of the land in Nottinghamshire being farmed, the Wildlife Trust believes that it is essential to work with farmers to create and improve wildlife corridors and habitat connectivity.