As well as providing a snapshot of the bird population on UK farms, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Big Farmland Bird Count aims to raise awareness of the vital role Working Conservationists such as farmers and other land managers play in helping farmland birds. This year we are encouraging all family members to take part and have created a family friendly Spotters Guide.
For children it is a chance to look, to listen, and to learn – not only about the birds and how to spot them, but also how counting them can help us understand which of our birds are in the most serious trouble and what we can do to help.
The BFBC can be great fun and kids love going outside, grabbing a pair of binoculars and spotting blackbirds, robins and cheeky sparrows flitting about in the hedgerows using both eyes and ears. Counting birds together will not only be inspiring their love of nature but promoting this sense of environmental stewardship and finding out exactly what feathered friends you are sharing your land with.
As Adam Henson – farmer, Countryfile presenter, and BFBC supporter – says: “It is so important to get an understanding of what species we have on the farm. Once we have a better idea of what birds we have and how they are doing, a baseline to work from, then we can put more measures in place to help them.
“What all us farmers now need to do is to demonstrate that the help available through government schemes really are delivering for wildlife.”
Dr Roger Draycott, from the GWCT, explains: “A lot of the habitat improvement work farms are implementing is funded through agri-environment schemes which is public sector money provided to farms to deliver habitats for wildlife.
“The Big Farmland Bird Count is a really simple initiative to demonstrate to the government and to the public that these options, like wild bird cover, late winter supplementary feeding and wildflower strips, are delivering for wildlife.
Since the BFBC started in 2014, around 2,000 people have taken part every year, and with young and old counting together, this is a chance to make memories while making a difference for future generations.
This year the BFBC will be launched by Adam Henson on Friday 7 February and the count will run until 23 February. Adam recently installed some additional supplementary feeders on his Cotswold Farm, after the GWCT helped and advised him on the best location for them. He says since they went up in December, birds have been flocking to them.
“Lots of little birds, such as finches and buntings, are using the feeders. They have been put in some long, uncut grass along a hedgerow, which is really good habitat and natural shelter for them. It’s also an overwintering area for lots of invertebrates and insects, providing even more food for hungry birds,” he says.
In last year’s count, nearly 395,000 birds were spotted during 1,721 surveys. The most common species seen were starling, woodpigeon and fieldfare. A total of 140 different species were recorded and of those, 27 are on the Red List, totalling nearly 140,000 individuals. The most abundant Red List species were starling, linnet, fieldfare and lapwing, while the rarest sightings were of snow bunting, rock pipit, merlin, greenshank, golden eagle and bittern.
Find out how you and your family can get involved by going to the Big Farmland Bird Count website. Here you can see what BFBC events are going on near you and join us in making it count for the future of our farmland songbirds.