Western Morning News (Saturday)
Join the count to plot rare bunting’s Westcountry range
VOLUNTEERS are being recruited to help conserve one of the Westcountry’s rarest resident birds.
The RSPB is appealing for volunteers to help carry out this year’s Cirl Bunting Survey across Devon and Cornwall between April and August.
Last year volunteers recorded cirl buntings in almost 60% of the twokilometre by two-kilometre survey ‘squares’, six of them recording the rare buntings for the first time. This year extra volunteer support is needed in the South Hams and South Teignbridge areas, says the bird charity.
Just over 30 years ago cirl buntings were in a state of serious decline and had already vanished from Cornwall and Somerset. With the support of the RSPB, farmers and landowners have been able to bring cirl buntings back from the brink. Volunteers can select a survey square near their home and no specialist skills are needed to take part other than an interest in birds and a pair of binoculars.
The Cirl Action Hub offers guidance on how to identify cirl buntings by sight and sound. Volunteers will be asked to visit their chosen survey square twice – first before the end of May and then any time from June to the end of August.
RSPB Conservation Officer Cath Jeffs said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to get to know the amazing wildlife on our doorstep. As well as hopefully spotting a cirl or two, volunteers will discover the other farmland bird species they share their local patch with. And most importantly, survey volunteers will be contributing directly to science. The data that volunteers help us gather over the coming years will allow us to spot trends in cirl numbers, so that we can identify any early warning signs and act quickly to help to help ensure the cirl bunting population does not become in danger of being lost from UK again.”
Eighty years ago, cirl buntings were widespread across southern England and parts of Wales, but by 1989 they were down to only 118 pairs mainly confined to Devon. These plummeting numbers were due to changes in farming practises, which made it hard for the cirl buntings to find food and suitable nest sites. During last year’s survey volunteers Tracy and Simon Gould made the discovery of the very first cirl bunting on farmland at Shillingford Organics on the outskirts of Exeter. Owner Martyn Bragg has been carefully managing this field with guidance from the RSPB to give cirl buntings a home for the past 23 years and finally they have arrived.
Martyn said he was “over the moon” and Tracy and Simon said: “We signed up to carry out the RSPB survey initially for the square containing both our home, and our local veg box grower, Shillingford Organics.
“We were delighted to encounter our first singing male cirl bunting at Martyn’s farm, announcing his presence after all these years of waiting, in ‘bold as brass’ fashion.”