Winter Farmland Birds Survey

Introduction

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Farmland of one sort or another accounts for most of the lowlands of Britain (right) and still supports large numbers of birds. Some species such as Grey Partridges and Corn Buntings are largely restricted to farmland, and many have declined since the mid 1970s. For many of these species, agricultural intensification is thought to have decreased over-winter survival and underlies their population declines (see here for more information on declines). In such cases, understanding how these species use farmland through the winter may be crucial if declines are to be reversed.

But it is not just the dedicated farmland species in which we are interested. A range of other British breeding species, breeding in woods (e.g. Chaffinch) and uplands (e.g. Meadow Pipit), move to farmland in winter, where they may form large conspicuous flocks. Additionally, Britain plays host to thousands of immigrant Starlings, thrushes and plovers, many of which utilise the British farmland landscape. For many of these species we knew precious little about their numbers, where they occur and how they use the farmland landscape. The Winter Farmland Bird Survey, organised by BTO and part of the BTO/JNCC partnership and involving thousands of volunteer birdwatchers, aimed to fill some of these gaps in our knowledge. The survey concentrated on the 30 species listed below. Many were Birds of Conservation Concern, some were widespread common species, others were immigrants, and three (*) were scarce localised farmland species.

Four methods were used to gather the data, each starting in 1999/2000 and running over three winters:

• Winter Walks - details of farmland birds seen during regular visits to an area of the observer’s choice - e.g. where you walk you dog every week. For more details click here

• Casual Records - records of large concentrations of farmland birds seen anywhere during each winter. For more details click here

• Square Survey - visits to randomly selected 1km x 1km squares throughout lowland farmland three times each winter to count farmland birds and record what types of habitat are used and which are avoided. For more details click here

• Golden Plover and Lapwing Survey - a small survey targeted at obtaining information on plover abundance and habitat use on individual flock ranges (ongoing - see also)

These different components required differing birdwatching skills and time commitment, which meant that there was something to suit everyone. As a result, this survey has been hugely successful in bringing together a wealth of information from over 2000 volunteers. The Winter Walks and Casual Records components of the survey are now complete and results can be seen by clicking the link below. Unfortunately, owing to uncertainties regarding land access after the Foot and Mouth outbreak, the final winter of the Square Survey was postponed until 2002/03. Some preliminary results are presented and finalised results will be posted when available.

This work was funded by a partnership of the British Trust for Ornithology and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf of Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales), and also on behalf of the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland.

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