Farmers to be paid to feed hungry birds during the winter months

Farmland birds such as grey partridge Perdix perdix, tree sparrow Passer montanus, yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella, reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus and corn bunting Miliaria calandra have declined by 70 per cent since 1970. This is despite the introduction of agri-environment schemes which pay farmers to put in a range of wildlife-friendly measures on their holdings. Modern farms have far fewer insects and weeds than they did four decades ago as a result of increased use of herbicides and pesticides. Farmers could be paid for feeding starving birds during the winter months under a new initiative. “Time is running out for many farmland birds and we need action right now,” said Peter Thompson, Farmland Biodiversity Advisor with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). “Farmland birds are a species in decline so anything to help reverse that trend is to be welcomed,” said an RSPB spokesman.

Source: The Westmorland Gazette, 14th February 2012
http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/9527221.Farmers_to_be_paid_…