Farmland bird numbers in England have decreased by 60% since the 1970’s according to DEFRA. As the project transitions from conventional arable to grassland restoration and regenerative agriculture, it is important to understand how the bird populations change and interpret the effectiveness of those management changes.
A baseline survey in 2022, consisting of winter, nocturnal and breeding bird surveys, found nearly 60 bird species, with high numbers of the more common farmland birds like Skylark and Yellowhammer, as well as more singular records of some local rarities. We have begun by establishing wildflower margins, hedgerow management, herbal leys, winter bird food crops and spreading supplementary winter bird food to manage sympathetically for farmland birds.
To read the full report: Sapperton Wilder Bird Report 2023-2024