Landscape Juice

Figures show fall in number of farmland birds

It is sad to see that a study of farmland birds across Europe has found that population levels are at their lowest since records began.

Figures published by the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme, show that numbers of grey partridge in the UK have declined by 90%, and the linnet has seen a 57% fall in population.

The study looked at population figures for 145 of the most common bird species in 25 European countries between 1980-2009.

Garden bird chicks had good summer, says RSPB

Did you take part in the RSPB's Make Your Nature Count survey in June, if so then the results are out and young birds seem to have had a good summer.

People across the UK took part with the birds and animals of 50,000 gardens recorded, and the number of baby blackbirds spotted was up 15% in comparison to 2010.

Almost a quarter of gardens had robin chicks, an increase of over 25% on last year, while young song thrushes were seen in 5% of UK gardens, an increase of almost 10%.

Public urged to help in spotting spread of avian pox

It is feared that avian pox is spreading across the UK and members of the public are being urged to help in spotting the disease.

Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the University of Oxford recorded the first occurrence of the disease in Oxford last year.

Prior to this, affected birds had most often been sighted in Surrey, Kent and Sussex.

European budget threat to UK bird habitat

Birdsong in the UK and European countryside could fall silent unless secret plans to scrap funding for wildlife-friendly farming are averted, warns the RSPB.

The RSPB is concerned that the European Union is considering scrapping payments to farmers to protect vulnerable species on their land. The RSPB estimates that the future of some of the UK’s most-loved farmland birds will face an uncertain future, or even extinction, if these plans are realised.

The threat has surfaced in the run-up to the latest EU budget, which is due to unveiled on June 29.

Bird decline halted by farmland management

More fields than ever before are being managed to halt the decline in farmland bird populations, according to new figures from Natural England.

The organisation says over 152,000 hectares (375,000 acres) of arable farmland are now providing vital winter food and habitat through farmers adopting bird-friendly measures as part of their environmental stewardship (ES) agreements.

More than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of farmland bird options were added by farmers within higher level stewardship schemes in the last year alone.

Natural England, the RSPB and farmers have focussed on creating the right sort of conditions for farmland birds. By growing seeds, insect-rich foraging habitat and nesting plots, farmers are helping species such as the lapwing and grey partridge whose populations have plummeted over the last 40 years.

GPS track Cuckoo migration to help understand decline

The British Trust for Ornithology is monitoring the migration of Cuckoos using GPS satellite tracking technology.

The tracking is part of a study being carried out by scientists into the decline of the cuckoo population - 50% of cuckoos have been lost in the last 25 years and is on the red list of endangered species.

Five male Cuckoos were caught by researchers by setting out a female decoy and playing a female and male song together to attract a rival male cuckoo.

The male birds were caught in fine V-shaped nylon mesh mist nets.

The five birds, who were given names, Clement, Martin, Lyster, Kasper and Chris, were be fitted with tiny backpacks costing £2,000 each.

A blog is being kept for each bird as their progress to Africa is monitored and you can also visualise the route on a Google map embedded in the page.

Make Your Nature Count, asks RSPB

DO you know what animals and beasties you have got zipping around your garden? Well the RSPB wants to find out.

Their Make Your Nature Count survey, running from June 4 to 12, 2011, is asking people to count the wildlife in their garden over the summer.

All that is required for you to take part is to spend an hour on one of the days in June noted above in your garden or local park and make a note of the birds you see.

Not only is the RSPB asking people to record birds, it also wants to know about some of the other wildlife visiting gardens, like badgers, toads, bats and snakes.

Last year 70,000 gardens were surveyed involving nearly 100,000 people and the results revealed almost a quarter of UK gardens are regularly visited by hedgehogs.

Richard Bashford, the RSPB’s Make Your Nature Count manager, said: "Gardens are teeming with wildlife at this time of year so it’s the perfect time to take a moment and enjoy it.

"It also helps to build an important snapshot of summer wildlife in our gardens so we can see which species are thriving and which might need our help."

Last year’s survey also revealed that the blackbird was the most frequent visitor recorded in 92 per cent of all gardens, followed by the wood pigeon in 80 per cent.

Make some mud for the birds, says RSPB

The RSPB is asking people to make muddy patches for the birds who desperately need it to make their nests as the breeding season gets under way.

After the driest April on record, and more dry weather forecast, birds like house martins and swallows are struggling to find enough sticky mud for their nests.

The wildlife charity suggests putting wet mud in a shallow container like a dustbin lid, or creating damp mud at the edges of borders and ponds or in bare patches of grass.

Ground-nesting birds under threat from fires

The outbreak of moorland fires across the UK has prompted the RSPB to issue a warning about the threat rare ground-nesting birds now face.

Of particular concern is the twite – a type of finch - which could have seen up to 40 per cent of its English population affected by fires in the north of England.

Nesting twite are confined to the southern Pennines, where around 100 pairs are found in small colonies.

Decline in numbers of farmland and woodland birds in Wales

Once common farmland and woodland birds are falling rapidly in number in Wales, says the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Their RSPB Wild Bird Indicator says that yellowhammers have decreased by 40%, curlews by 46% and starlings by 58% since 1994.

However, rare breeding birds are increasing like the avocet and the bearded tit.

But other birds like the corn bunting and turtle dove are giving cause for concern.