Big Farmland Bird Count
This important initiative, supported by LEAF, offers a simple means of recording the effect of any conservation schemes currently being initiated by farmers and gamekeepers on their land such as supplementary feeding or growing wild bird seed crops and game cover crops.
We will be taking part here at Sundey Hill Farm, following our wildlife species count with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, for the Braydon Forest project.
The 2021 Big Farmland Bird Count is taking place between the 5th and 14th February 2021.
Just follow the three simple steps below to take part:
1. Download your count sheet
2. Count your birds!
- On a day between 5th and 14th February spend about 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the farm. You can choose your own location but somewhere with a good view of around 2 ha of the farm would be ideal.
- Record the types of habitat and cropping on and adjacent to your count site to help provide us with more detail about your count location.
- To see the highest number of birds we would recommend that the site includes or is close to an area of game or wild seed mix or somewhere that supplementary feeding takes place.
- Ideally, counting should take place at first light as this is when the birds are most active. However, it is more important that you take part, so timings should suit you.
3. Submit your results online
You can submit your Big Farmland Bird Count results quickly and easily online once the count begins on 5 February 2021.
Sparrow Bed and Breakfast
This picture of the frost covered creeper growing on the barn is a habitat for hundreds of house sparrows, every morning, they bounce out of bed down into the chicken run below to breakfast on chicken corn. An example of how keeping and feeding farm animals has benefits for wildlife.
