Green schemes boost bird numbers

The study – published in the Journal of Applied Ecology – focussed on the corn bunting one of the UK’s most threatened farmland birds.

It was carried out on 71 arable and mixed lowland farms between 2003 and 2009 in Eastern Scotland, where 85 per cent of Scotland’s corn buntings are found.

It showed that where there were no agri-environment measures in place, corn bunting numbers declined by 14.5 per cent per year.

Where basic agri-environment measures were deployed, numbers remained roughly stable.

But where schemes specifically targeted at boosting corn bunting populations were in place, numbers increased by 5.6 per cent per year.

The RSPB said the research has ‘shown conclusively that targeted agri-environment schemes paying farmers to include measures for corn buntings on their land can make a real difference’.

RSPB conservation director Mark Avery said the research ‘proves just how vital it is that farmers receive proper funding’ for agri-environment schemes under the next version of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

“Corn buntings are just one of a number of species which are disappearing from our countryside. We cannot allow this to continue,” he said.

“We know what the problems are and we know how to solve them - now farmers, conservationists and Government all need to work together to make it happen.

“UK farmers receive £3.3billion a year through the CAP, but only a small part of this pays for agri-environment schemes. The upcoming reform of the CAP is a vital opportunity to ensure this money benefits both farming communities and threatened wildlife.”

Once a widespread species, corn bunting numbers have fallen by almost 90 per cent since 1970, as overall farmland bird numbers have halved over the past four decades.

Corn buntings, which prefer nesting in growing crops and survive on a diet of insects in summer and grain and weed seeds in winter, are suffering from a lack of places to feed and nest, the RSPB said.  

Measures that have been shown to boost numbers of the species include over-winter stubble and insect rich field margins.

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