BBC Countryfile’s Adam Henson kicked off the Big Farmland Bird Count on his farm
Run by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and sponsored by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), the BFBC will run for two weeks until Sunday 23 February.
Adam hosted 45 guests who braved the freezing conditions at his Cotswold Farm Park in Gloucestershire for a guided walk across the fields. They were shown what measures he has in place to help provide food and cover for farmland birds, and how he is working towards increasing overall biodiversity across his land.
“After the second world war it was all about producing food for the nation,” he told guests. “At agricultural college, I got taught how to milk cows and shear sheep, I didn’t get taught how to look after the environment.
“But we’ve been learning a lot over the last 20 years. I love living and working where I do, and it’s a great joy to see wildlife on the farm.
Farmland birds have declined by 63% in the past 50 years. The key to reversing the trend is held by the people who look after 72% of the UK which is agricultural land. The BFBC encourages farmers, land and wildlife managers to spend 30 minutes recording the bird species and numbers on their farms and surrounding land during a two-week window in winter.
In its 12th year, the count provides a snapshot of the bird population on UK farmland to help us understand which species are in the most serious trouble.
Adam, who farms 1,600 acres alongside running in the rare breeds visitors farm, is taking part in the Big Farmland Bird Count for the first time, having reported on it on Countryfile last year. He says he hopes more farmers and land managers up and down the country will follow suit and do the count.
He said: “It’s very easy to take part you just make a note of the birds you see or hear and upload it to the BFBC website. If, like me, you struggle to recognise them all, you can always ask a bird watcher friend to come out with you. It’s a really enjoyable thing to do.”
Adam recently installed some additional supplementary feeders on the 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.
One feeder even had fresh grey partridge droppings by it, and Adam confirmed there were two pairs on his land of this species, which has seen a dramatic 94% decline since the 1980s.
Matt Goodall, the GWCT’s Head of Education, highlighted the importance of encouraging farmers to take part and helping them feel connected to the nature they have on their farms.
He said: “Farmers are key to achieving nature recovery. This cannot be done if we just concentrate on nature reserves alone, which make up less than 12% of land in the UK.
“So, it’s really important to keep enthusing and encouraging farmers, and all land and wildlife managers out there, along this journey.
“To see what is out there, and what’s struggling at this time of year, really helps build a desire to make a difference and invest in measures that improve the habitat for birds and other wildlife and help them through the winter months.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure, so doing the survey year on year helps you understand what you have on the farm, which gives you a better idea of how to make improvements.”
