Swallow now a regular at nearly all West Country farms

FANTASTIC NEWS: Swallows now common in the West Country. Picture: RSPB

Ninety-nine per cent are now home to swallows, reveals RSPB survey

December 2010: Ninety nine per cent of West Country farms are now home to swallows. That's the finding of this year's RSPB run Volunteer & Farmer Alliance (V&FA), a unique survey that twins keen birdwatchers with landowners to find out more about birds on the region's farms.

In total 94 farms in the South West totalling 6,617 hectares were surveyed by 108 keen volunteers from the RSPB. More than eight out of ten farms also recorded song thrush, skylark, linnet and whitethroat.

Felicity Clarke, V&FA coordinator for the RSPB in the South West said: ‘It's been a particularly memorable year for the survey, with the South West once again leading the way with the greatest number of participating farms anywhere in the UK. And to discover that almost every farm had swallows was just great, they are such popular birds and real heralds of summer.'

Swallows are on the amber list of UK birds of conservation concern. They are not doing well across Europe, possibly due to habitat changes in their breeding grounds and climatic changes in their African wintering grounds. However in the West Country where farming is predominantly based on livestock, they have increased by 59 per cent over the past 15 years.

Skylarks are also making a comeback

Ms Clarke added: ‘It's excellent news that skylarks are seen on so many of the surveyed farms. This is species we are particularly concerned about due to huge losses over the past twenty five years.

‘However, we have been working with famers in many parts of the region to try and reverse this decline, especially on arable land where the simple provision of small plots of fallow ground within crops can make a huge difference to this iconic ground nesting birds.'

With the results collated and analysed farmers will now start to receive their individual farm surveys and additional advice on bird friendly management of their land.

The RSPB works with farmers in priority wildlife areas across the region. In places such as Cornwall, South Devon and Wessex they have been instrumental in helping the recovery of numerous species such as chough, cirl bunting and stone curlew.

'The volunteers' enthusiasm has rubbed off'

Paul Thomas, who farms at Rodhuish, near Minehead in Somerset said: ‘The RSPB volunteers we have had on the farm through the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance have been brilliant and their enthusiasm has rubbed off. My wife and I now carry binoculars with us at all times. We have had great pleasure in receiving the survey results and map back which now takes pride of place on the office wall. I would thoroughly recommend it to any one, volunteer or farmer.'

This year's survey also contained a few surprises for the farmers and the RSPB. Ms Clarke said: ‘Every year our volunteers turn up some great birds. We've had stone curlew on farms in Wiltshire, quail and corn bunting turning up in Devon, and numerous red kites returning to former breeding areas. And one farm even had Montagu's harrier, an extremely rare bird in the UK.
‘The strangest and most amusing sighting though was of an escaped turkey apparently living wild on one of the farms, though we're keep the site a closely guarded secret in the run up to Christmas.'

The RSPB is looking for both farms and volunteers to get involved in the survey next year. If you are interested please contact Ms Clarke on 01392 453774 or email her at felicity.clarke@rspb.org.uk . The surveys are completely free and confidential, for more information about the scheme visit www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/farming.