ENVIRONMENT Minister Richard Benyon has received a conservation award for helping to save a threatened farmland bird.
The grey partridge, whose numbers have been declining for the past fifty years, requires an insect-rich habitat to raise chicks.
After giving 1,000 acres of his Englefield Estate in Berkshire to help the bird, Mr Benyon’s efforts have been successful as the numbers of grey partridges on the Englefield estate have increased from two to 31 pairs.
And the Englefield estate’s team have been awarded with the Cotswold Grey Partridge Trophy by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) for their efforts to save the rapidly declining bird.
The grey partridge has declined in recent years, with numbers dropping from more than one million pairs in the 1950s to less than 50,000. GWCT claims a range of year-round habitats such as insect-rich areas for chicks and cover for winter is essential for saving the birds.
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