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Project aims to boost birdlife in North Wessex DownsA new partnership led by the RSPB and Natural England has just begun in the North Wessex Downs to help farmers and land managers use Environmental Stewardship schemes to boost key farmland bird species. The North Wessex Downs is a nationally significant area for farmland birds, holding important populations of species including lapwing, grey partridge, corn bunting and stone curlew. Over the past 30 years however, policy has driven changes in farming to meet increasing demands, resulting in a loss of habitat and the wildlife that depends on it. Farmland birds have particularly suffered in this period.
Environmental Stewardship schemes including Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) present an opportunity to create the habitat required by farmland birds whilst providing the farm with a stable income during its time in the scheme. Choosing options that provide nesting habitat, summer and winter food (the 'Big 3'), such as conservation headlands, wildflower margins and wild bird seed mixtures, has been shown to benefit not only farmland birds, but also other important species such as bumblebees and rare arable plants.
The Farmland Bird Advisor for this new project is Diane Nicolle, who will be covering the Berkshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire area of the AONB (South East Region). Diane will be providing advice and free no-obligation farm visits to help farmers and land managers who are considering entering ES schemes for the first time (ELS, HLS and OELS), renewing existing schemes, or who would like advice on managing or amending their current arable options. She will be working closely with Sarah Blyth who already covers the Wiltshire part of the North Wessex Downs under the South West Farmland Bird Initiative (SWFBI), and together they will form the North Wessex Farmland Bird Project.
The project will also tie in with the current Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE), which aims to prevent the reintroduction of compulsory set-aside by asking farmers to enter ELS, to register any of their land already in voluntary options and to consider delivering one extra voluntary measure.
If you farm in the North Wessex Downs and would like advice on ES schemes or to arrange a farm visit, please contact Diane on 01488 680452 or email diane.nicolle@rspb.org.uk |
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