Habitats
Creating specific habitats on farmland can help a range of wildlife, and is the most common way to deliver conservation on farms. To guide this, management packages are available both within Environmental Stewardship and the new Countryside Stewardship Scheme. They work on the basis of providing nesting/resting and feeding opportunities throughout the year.
For farmland birds this covers the ‘Big 3’ – safe nesting habitat, summer insect feeding areas and winter seed feeding areas. This can apply to an individual holding, or perhaps over a number of holdings covering a larger area. Click the links below for more information
Management for farmland birds
Beetle banks
Conservation headlands
Fallow plots
Uncropped cultivated areas for ground nesting birds on arable land - GWCT
Fodder crops
Low-input spring cereals
Overwintered stubbles
Pollen and nectar mixtures
Pollen and nectar flower mixtures - GWCT
Skylark plots
Uncropped cultivated margins and plots
Uncropped cultivated margins for rare plants - GWCT
Illustrated guide to rare plants on arable land - NE
Uncropped cultivated margins advisory sheet - RSPB
Wild bird seed mixtures
Wildflower margins
As well as management of arable habitats, a range of options can also be used in grassland areas. Much of this focuses on varied sward structure and increasing floristic diversity to provide nesting and foraging opportunities. Follow the links below for more information.
Images – The Farmland Bird Package ©Bruce Fowkes, Beetle banks ©Des Sussex, Conservation headlands ©Diane White, Fallow plots ©Hayley New, Fodder crops ©Harriet Dennison, Low input spring cereals ©Peter Thompson, Overwintered stubbles ©Bruce Fowkes, Pollen and nectar mixtures ©Des Sussex, Skylark plots ©Andy Hay (rspb-images.com), Uncropped cultivated margins and plots ©Hayley New, Wild bird seed mixture ©Hayley New, Wildflower margins ©Peter Thompson, Extensive grazing ©Bruce Fowkes, Hay meadows ©Peter Thompson, Species rich grassland ©Fay Pattinson
- SDFBI Blog
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