SETTING up nature reserves will
not reverse the catastrophic decline
in Britain’s wild bird population, but
appealing to the enlightened self-
interest of the country’s farmers
might just do the trick, VAWM
members were told.
Nick Sotherton, director of research
at the Game and Wildlife Conservation
Trust (GWCT), described a strategy for
encouraging farmers to take
responsibility for conservation efforts
on their own land.
The idea fits neatly within the
Coalition government’s Big Society
Agenda in relying on the efforts of
volunteer groups rather than local or
central government to create change.
The process has helped to stem the
decline in the numbers of grey
partridges but will produce knock-on
effects in helping restore numbers of
other bird species, he said.
Nationally, numbers of Perdix perdix
have fallen by more 90% since the early
1970s.
That decline has been due to changes in land management and
particularly through intensive wheat
production. “But if arable farmers are
the cause of the problem they can also
provide the solution,” he said.
Only 6% of the country lies within
a designated conservation area, while
75% is used for agriculture. So it is vital
that farmland is used more effectively in
conservation. “We have been studying
partridges for over 40 years. Our
research can show you how to put
things right but you won’t do it by
buying up land, putting a fence round it
and calling it a nature reserve.”
The GWCT has shown farmers that
without significantly cutting production
they can provide nesting cover for
breeding birds and refuge for the insects
needed to feed their chicks. Control of
those predator species that can legally
be destroyed is also a key element in the
strategy, he said.
The trust runs the grey partridge
biodiversity action plan and encourages
landowners to carry out two annual
counts of the numbers of birds on their holding. This count is the longest
established and largest of its type in
Europe. Research suggests that the
trust’s approach in encouraging farmers
to think about partridge conservation
does yield dividends. In recent years,
long-standing members of the scheme
report an annual 14% increase in bird
numbers.
There may, however, be a glitch in
the recent upward trend in the partridge
population.
Summer 2012 was the wettest in the
four decades that the trust has been
monitoring bird numbers. Insect
populations were badly affected and
without adequate food, damp chicks
soon suffer from hypothermia. The
effects may not be apparent until next
year’s breeding season.
Professor Sotherton pointed out
that the trust receives no government
funding to support its work. Nor do the
farmers receive any money for joining
the scheme, although there are longer-
term financial benefits.
When partridge numbers recover
sufficiently they can find sportsmen
willing to pay £200 per brace for the
shooting rights, making these birds
even more valuable than the red
grouse.
