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A blackbird spotted at Auchnerran RESULTS ARE in for Scotland s latest Big Farmland Bird Count, with a big increase in the number of farmers taking part. This was the eighth annual BFBC, organised by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and it received a record numbers of responses from across the UK. In Scotland, 117 farmers took part and recorded 93 species across more than 98,000 acres – a 45% increase in participation compared to last year. The BFBC was launched in 2014 to highlight the positive work done by farmers and gamekeepers in helping to reverse the decline in farmland bird numbers. The count offers a simple means of recording the effect of any conservation work currently being instigated by farmers and gamekeepers on their land, such as scatter feeding birds through winter or growing crops specifically to provide seed for birds.
Published:
6:00 PM April 9, 2021
A song thrush was among the species spotted by farmers during the Great Farmland Bird Count
- Credit: Andy Morffew
Organisers of an annual farmland bird count have expressed delight as participation in the event more than doubled this year.
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) Big Farmland Bird Count recorded sightings of a total of 25 species on the Red List for Birds of Conservation Concern with eight appearing in the 25 most frequently seen species list.
Farmers, gamekeepers and land managers spent 30 minutes recording the bird species they saw on their land to provide a snapshot of sightings over a period from February 5 to February 21.
Farmers take part in record breaking Big Farmland Bird Count
8 April 2021 |
Surveys were undertaken in every county of England and across much of Scotland, NI and Wales
A record number of farmers participated in this year s Big Farmland Bird Count despite February s bad weather and lockdown restrictions.
Participation in the annual nationwide survey of farmland birds, which took place between 5-21 February, has more than doubled compared to last year.
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), which organises the initiative, said 2,500 counts were turned in for 2021.
This represents a 65 percent increase in the number submitted compared to 2020, which was also a record year.