Sign up for farmland bird count next month
Proof that farms can be managed for the benefit of birds comes from counting species. Philip Bowern reports
THE Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, with partners from farming and other conservation bodies, are calling on farmers and land managers to sign up for the 2021 Big Farmland Bird Count taking place next month.
Participants, who must undertake their observations in a Covid-safe way, play a vital role in providing a snapshot of the state of the nation’s much loved farmland birds.
The count, which takes place from February 5 to February 14, is backed by partners including the National Farmers Union and the Country Land and Business Association among others. It will be the eighth annual Big Farmland Bird Count.
The GWCT says: “This important initiative offers a simple means of recording the effect of any conservation schemes currently being initiated by farmers and gamekeepers on their land such as supplementary feeding or growing wild bird seed crops and game cover crops.
“It is also a useful way of gaining personal insight on how well their birds are faring.”
Jim Egan, Head of Development and Training at the GWCT’s Allerton Project, a working farm and conservation centre in Leicestershire explained why conducting the count is so important: “Farmers and gamekeepers are vital in helping to ensure the future survival of many of our most cherished farmland bird species such as skylark, yellowhammer, corn buntings and wild grey partridges,” he said. “They are responsible for managing the largest songbird habitat in this country on their land but frequently their efforts to reverse bird declines are largely unrecorded. We believe our Big Farmland Bird Count will help remedy this, particularly as our earlier pilot count showed such encouraging results.
“Over the last 24 years researchers at our Allerton Project farm have gained a great understanding of the needs of farmland game and wildlife. Their work has demonstrated the combined benefits of habitat management, winter feeding for birds and targeted legal predator control in the breeding season. We have also come to understand the
‘Researchers have a gained a great understanding of farmland game and wildlife’ JIM EGAN, GWCT
benefits that can be gained from long term monitoring of bird numbers in order to identify trends in wildlife populations.
“We understand the crucial role that farmers and gamekeepers play in the survival of farmland birds and we want to give them an opportunity of showing what their conservation efforts deliver on the ground. It is also a satisfying way for people to discover the different range of birds that are on the farm and the results can be surprising. We hope it will spur people on to do even more work for their farmland birds in the future and will act as a catalyst for them to start building their own long standing wildlife records.”
Last year, in February 2020, the count welcomed a record number of participants with over 1,500 farmers taking part. They recorded more than 120 species across 1.4 million acres.
The Big Farmland Bird Count was launched in 2014 to highlight the positive work done by farmers and gamekeepers in helping to reverse the decline in farmland bird numbers. The count offers a simple means of recording the effect of any conservation work currently being instigated by farmers and gamekeepers on their land, such as scatter feeding birds through winter or growing crops specifically to provide seed for birds.
In 2020 the most commonly seen species were blackbirds and woodpigeons, seen by over 75% of participants. Robins, blue tits and pheasants were seen by over 70% of the farmers.
But at the other end of the scale, a total of 25 species from the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern were recorded, with nine appearing in the 25 most commonly seen species list. Fieldfares, starlings, linnets and lapwings were the four most abundant red listed species recorded with over 67,000 spotted which equates to 24% of all species spotted.
The average farm size of those taking part was 920 acres with almost half of participants in some form of agri-environment scheme, demonstrating their long-term commitment to environmental management.
More than a third of participants were providing some form of extra seed feed for birds, either through growing wild bird seed mixes, or by providing additional grain through scatter feeding or via hoppers.
To take part in the count go to https://www.bfbc.org.uk/take-part/ how-to-take-part/ and download the identification sheets. Participants will need to spend about 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one area of the farm.