News
Why Big Farmland Bird Count needs your support
F
armers and wildlife en- thusiasts across the coun- try are being urged to take
part in the Big Farmland Bird Count (BFBC) – which returns next month for the seventh suc- cessive year.
Organised by the Game &
Wildlife Conservation Trust – and sponsored by NFU for the second year running – the BFBC initiative calls on farmers, land managers and gamekeepers to spend 30 minutes spotting bird species on their patch of land at any time between 7 and 16 February.
The project is important be- cause results help to determine which farmland birds are bene- fi ting from conservation efforts undertaken by farmers and land-
owners – especially during the winter months – while identify- ing the ones most in need of help. GWCT head of advisory ser- vices Roger Draycott said: “Farm- ers and gamekeepers are vital in helping to ensure the future sur- vival of many of our most cher- ished farmland bird species like skylarks, yellowhammers, corn buntings and wild grey par- tridges.
“They are responsible for man- aging the largest songbird habi- tat 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.” Dr Draycott added: “We under- stand the crucial role that land
Yellow hammers were seen on almost one third of participating farms (Credit PThompson-GWCT)
managers play in the survival of farmland birds and we want to give them an opportunity of show- ing what their conservation ef- forts deliver on the ground”. Last year saw a record-break- ing 1,400 people join the bird count – a 40% increase on the previous year. They recorded 140 species over 400,000ha. Many landscape-scale farmland con- servation projects are now taking part as well as individual farms.
How to take part in three simple steps
Download your count sheet from the BFBC website
www.bf c.org.uk.
Count your birds! Spend 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the farm on a day between 7 and 16 February.
Once you’ve completed your count, simply submit your results online.
Encouragingly, a total of 30 red-listed species were record- ed in 2019. Five of these endan- gered species were on the most- commonly seen list. Organisers say the count of- fers a simple way of recording the effects of any conservation work undertaken by farmers and gamekeepers on their land. Results will be analysed at the end of the count Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.
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6 MIDLAND FARMER • JANUARY 2020
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