Could game management have a role in the conservation of farmland passerines? A case study from a Leicestershire farm.

Abstract

The management of wild gamebirds for shooting involves a combination of habitat management (woodland, field boundaries and game crops), winter feeding and control of potential nest predators, any of which could benefit other birds, including nationally declining species associated with farmland habitats. Changes in numbers of passerines were monitored over six years in relation to game management on farmland in Leicestershire. Nest success was monitored over four years and, for some species, was inversely related to abundance of breeding corvids. Abundance of breeding passerines increased during the period of game management. Species whose breeding populations have declined nationally (coincident with agricultural intensification) showed the greatest increases in abundance relative both to other species, and to the same nationally declining species in nearby farmland. The precise mechanism by which the game management package contributes to increased breeding numbers is not understood and is likely to differ between species. However, these results show that further integration of wild game management into farming systems could have conservation benefits for nationally declining farmland birds.