GWCT's Big Farmland Bird Count is just around the corner
What is the Big Farmland Bird Count?
Opening on the 3rd - 19th February 2023, the GWCT's Big Farmland Bird Count offers an opportunity for farmers to record the birdlife found on their farm and add it to a ever growing pool of data. Since the 1970's farmland birds have declined by 63% and projects like the Big Farmland Bird Count give farmers the chance to stay on top of population trends on their farm as well as being a great way to see conservation schemes having a positive impact.
How to get involved:
Taking part is quick and easy and all you need are these three simple steps:
- Grab some pen and paper. Alternatively, you can print the GWCT Recording Sheet, which can be found here.
- Go out for one day between the 3rd and 19th of February and spend 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds you see, as well as the weather, habitat and cropping that is within the survey area. Eg, sunny, near a hedgerow with a cover crop in field.
- Submit your results online.
Once you have submitted your results you will be entered into a prize draw where you could win a Moultrie A900 Trail Camera, 2 PERDIX Bird Nesting Boxes and 3 PERDIX Farmland Feeders!
You can find more information on what the Big Farmland Bird Count is all about, as well as more details on counting and recognising birds on the GWCT's website here.
Last year over 1,900 farmers took part and recorded 130 species over more than 1.5million acres, all in all counting over 420,000 birds! Although the most commonly seen birds were woodpigeons and blackbirds, a total of 26 species from the Red List for Birds of Conservation Concern were also recorded, with 7 of these red list birds being in the 25 most frequently seen species list. These include Starling, lapwing, fieldfare, linnet, house sparrow, yellowhammer and skylark.
