Game crops and threatened farmland songbirds in Scotland: a step towards halting population declines?

Abstract

Capsule During winter songbirds were far more abundant in game cover crops than conventional agricultural habitats.
Aims To quantify game crop use during winter by farmland songbirds when compared with conventional farmland at a regional scale.
Methods Songbirds were counted on 20 farms in eastern Scotland. The number of songbirds using game crops was compared with a sample of nearby conventional crops - with particular emphasis on set-aside and cereal stubbles.
Results Game crops supported up to 100 times as many birds per hectare, of significantly more species, than the other two habitat categories. Many of these species were those currently causing concern because of their declining populations.
Conclusion Game crops could provide opportunities for increasing food resources to songbirds whose populations may be limited by food availability and possibly arrest population declines. At present, the only measures likely to facilitate this are the government's various agri-environment schemes.