The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) annual census of the UK’s farmland birds will be launched on 7 February by farmer and TV personality Adam Henson, well known from the BBC’s Countryfile programme.
The Big Farmland Bird Count encourages farmers, landowners and wildlife managers to spend 30 minutes recording the different bird species and how many they see of each kind on their farms and surrounding land during a two-week winter window.
The count is in response to the fact that the number of farmland birds has declined by 63% in the past 50 years and reflects the GWCT’s view that “the key to reversing the trend is held by the people who look after the 72% of the UK which is agricultural land”.
The event, sponsored by the NFU, has provided vital data over the past decade to help the GWCT and others understand which farmland birds are in the most serious trouble and how they can be helped. Those taking part in the February 2024 count recorded nearly 395,000 birds during 1,721 surveys.
Adam Henson recently installed additional supplementary feeders on his Cotswold farm, with help from the Trust on the best location for them, and said birds had been flocking to them since they were put up in December.
“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 said.
Adam will be taking part in the Big Farmland Bird Count for the first time, having reported on it on Countryfile last year.
©Will George
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