Call for supporters to take part in Big Farmland Bird Count

People who are out and about in the countryside are being urged to take part in the Big Farmland Bird Count which kicks off on Friday.

The count is organised by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and farmers, land managers, gamekeepers and wildlife enthusiasts are being asked to spend 30 minutes recording what species they see on their patch of land between Friday to Sunday, February 17.

It is hoped that the data gathered will help identify farmland birds that are flourishing due to good conservation methods and ones in need of most support.

Backing this project, now in its sixth successive year, is the NFU, which is this year’s sponsor.

A record-breaking 1,000 people took part in last year’s count, recording 121 species across 950,000 acres.

A total of 25 red-listed species were recorded, with five appearing in the 25 most commonly seen species list. These include fieldfares, starlings, house sparrows, song thrushes and yellowhammers. The most plentiful of these were fieldfares and starlings, which were seen on nearly 40 per cent of the farms taking part.

At the end of the count, the results will be analysed by the Trust. All participants will receive a report on the national results.

A count sheet can be downloaded from www.bfbc.org.uk and results are submitted to the same website.

Birds are counted on one day between February 8 and 17 during a 30-minute period recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the farm.