An exciting new partnership led by the RSPB and Natural England has recently begun in the Berkshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire sites of the North Wessex Downs Area of outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), in a bid to help farmers and land managers boost key farmland bird species.

Diane Nicolle is the new Farmland Bird Advisor in the area, providing advice and free no-obligation farm visits to help farmers and land managers who are considering entering Environmental Stewardship schemes for the first time, renewing existing schemes, or who would like advice on managing or amending their current arable options.

Diane said: “Over the past 30 years policy has driven changes in farming to meet increasing demands, resulting in a loss of habitat and the wildlife that depends on it. Farmland birds have particularly suffered in this period.”

The North Wessex Downs is a nationally significant area for farmland birds, holding important populations of species including lapwing, grey partridge, corn bunting and stone curlew.

Environmental Stewardship schemes including Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) present an opportunity to create the habitat required by farmland birds whilst providing the farm with a stable income during its time in the scheme.

Diane added: “Choosing options that provide nesting habitat, summer and winter food (the ‘Big 3’), such as conservation headlands, wildflower margins and  wild bird seed mixtures, has been shown to benefit not only farmland birds, but also other important species such as bumblebees and rare arable plants.”

The project ties in with the current Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE), which aims to prevent the reintroduction of compulsory set-aside by asking farmers to enter ELS, to register any of their land already in voluntary options and to consider delivering one extra voluntary measure.

Farmers in the North Wessex Downs who would like advice or to arrange a farm visit can contact Diane on: 01488 680452 or at diane.nicolle@rspb.org.uk