On the 7th of June, at 6:00am, Stuart Harris from the Nature Friendly Farming Network came to do a breeding bird survey.
We definitely think that the dawn chorus is louder around 4:30, so we will have to be even earlier next time round. The results were great, and importantly we are home to 4 species of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK. We have three from the amber list: woodpigeon, kestrel and wren. But it is our greenfinch which is a red-listed species, pictured below.
Here is what we counted, the one or two letter prefix is the British Trust for Ornithology Species Code, followed by the common bird name and the number we could identify.
CH Chaffinch: 2, B. Blackbird: 2, BC Blackcap: 2, R. Robin: 2, WP Woodpigeon: 10, CC Chiffchaff: 2, WR Wren: 2, BT Blue Tit: 2, GT Great Tit: 2, JD Jackdaw: 4,
GO Goldfinch: 4, K. Kestrel: 1, GS Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1, LW Lesser Whitehroat: 1, LT Long tailed Tit: 5, GR Greenfinch: 1.
We also have kites, merlins, crows, starlings, a European green woodpecker and a beautiful creamy Barn Owl that we see nearly every day on our morning walks or in the evenings, hunting down the vine rows for mice. At dusk the bats come out over the ponds to feed on insects. With our lovely neighbours, Andrew and Mary, we have a plan to improve our farm habitats for Turtle Doves so keep your fingers crossed!
Stuart is keen to come back next Spring and is expecting to find more species and greater numbers. "In light of the excellent land management being implemented on the farm, I believe both bird diversity and abundance will increase."
So there you go, that one sentence says it all. The work we are doing? It's working.
