News
Wild bird initiative gets results
5th February 2010
Due to agricultural intensification many of our farmland birds have suffered disastrous declines over the last three decades and the tree sparrow is no exception; numbers have crashed to only 3% of the 1970s population.
Lack of food - grass and wildflower seed and some cereal grains found in autumn and winter stubbles - together with a decrease in hedgerows are to blame. Other farmland birds such as turtle dove, grey partridge, yellow wagtail, corn bunting and lapwing have suffered similar declines.
At Lackford two acres of seed strips are being established with funding from Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ASLF). West Suffolk sites manager Joe Davis explains:
“At the moment we are using supplementary feeders to attract tree sparrows and will be planting the seed strips this spring. So far things are going pretty well and we have had far greater numbers of tree sparrow in than we usually get. A delicious mix of sunflower, millet, kale etc will be sown which will provide nutritious seeds for the birds over the autumn and next winter. We hope the presence of permanent seed strips will encourage increasing numbers of tree sparrow to stay and breed at Lackford.”
The erection of woodcrete nest boxes and the creation of a bat roost in a former pill box is also important conservation work being funded under the scheme.
For more information please contact Lackford’s Joe Davis on 01284 728541 or SWT property manager Steve Aylward on 01473 890089.
ENDS
