Cold snap means farm bird count is extended
Bad weather and bird watching don’t always go together. Philip Bowern reports on the Big Farmland Bird Count, which has been extended for a week
WINTER is good time for watching birds. The leaves are off the deciduous trees and bushes, making it easier to spot them and species are beginning to prepare for the nesting season, which often means they are more visible and singing more loudly.
But when the weather is poor and you have a short window in which to carry out some citizen science, it can be tricky. The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch was declared a success, with significant participation, despite it coinciding with a wet weekend in many parts of the country, from January 29 to January 31.
But watching birds from the kitchen window as they fly to the garden bird table for titbits is one thing. Getting out into the fields for the other big birdwatching event of the early part of the year, the Big Farmland Bird Count, organised by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, is rather more challenging when conditions are less than ideal.
The event was to have run from February 5 to 14. In much of Britain that coincided with some of the coldest and snowiest conditions for years. So the GWCT announced yesterday that the count was being extended until next Sunday, February 21, to enable those taking part to have a greater chance of accurately reporting on the birdlife in their area.
The GWCT report: “Heavy snow and freezing conditions have hampered land managers’ efforts to complete the annual GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count across much of the UK. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has taken the decision to extend the wildlife survey to enable people to count safely. The event was due to run from 5-14 February, but people can now carry out the count until Sunday 21 February.”
The GWCT’s Dr Roger Draycott, who organises the event, said feedback from participants had influenced the decision.
“We have heard from a number of farmers and gamekeepers that they are keen to complete the count, but the weather has so far been unsuitable or unsafe,” he said. “The wintery conditions also tend to mean that the birds take shelter and are harder to spot. We are extending the deadline for completing the count until 21 February to allow anyone who has not been able to complete the count so far to do so.”
Jeremy Scott-Bolton has taken part in the count every year since it began in 2014. He said: “I am so pleased that GWCT has extended the Big Farmland Bird Count for another week. As an environmental consultant for Future-Biogas, I carry out a number of bird counts on sites across the east of England. This week’s severe weather looked set to prevent me from completing this very important survey, leaving a gap in the annual data supplied to the GWCT.”
Last year more than 1,500 people took part in the GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count. Keen to beat that number and with the weather forecast to warm up a little this week, the GWCT is encouraging land managers to get out onto their land for just half an hour and count the birds they see.
Results are submitted to the GWCT, allowing the Trust’s scientists to build a picture of the state of Britain’s treasured bird species. The survey shows which species are doing well in which areas, and which birds need extra conservation efforts to ensure their survival.
Farmers and gamekeepers look after 71% of Britain’s countryside. Many of them carry out vital work to support farmland birds, including winter feeding, planting bird seed mixes and maintaining hedgerows. The Big Farmland Bird Count gives them a chance to see the effects of their conservation efforts on bird numbers and variety.
Last year the Big Farmland Bird Count saw blackbirds and woodpigeons come top of the list of the most common species seen. Robins, blue tits and pheasants were next on the list. But at the other end of the spectrum a total of 25 species from the Red List for 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 in total spotted, which equates to 24% of all species spotted. Almost half of all participants in 2020 were in some form of agri-environment scheme, demonstrating their commitment to environmental management with many on shooting estates providing extra grain for wild birds through winter.
‘The severe weather looked set to prevent me completing this important survey’ JEREMY SCOTT-BOLTON