Organic animal farms benefit birds nesting in agricultural environments

Date:  May 16, 2019

Source:  University of Helsinki

The abundance of bird species living in agricultural environments has decreased both in Finland and elsewhere in Europe. Attempts to rectify the situation have been made with the help of agri-environment-climate subsidies. They are granted to agricultural producers by the EU for implementing measures that are presumed to be beneficial to the environment. There is a range of such subsidies, but their potential effects on biodiversity at national scales have been seldom comprehensively investigated.

As indicated by a recent study conducted in Finland, the proximity of organic animal farms increased the numbers of birds in agricultural environments. In contrast, most of the other environmental subsidies only had a minor impact on bird numbers.

"Agricultural subsidies constitute a substantial portion of the EU's budget, and are the most significant form of funding for improving natural conditions. Funding should be allocated to measures that benefit biodiversity the most," says Irina Herzon, a researcher at the University of Helsinki.

On all organic farms, production animals have access to pastures. The majority of organic animal farms in Finland are cattle farms where cattle are able to graze during summer months. Thanks to their complex vegetation and presence of manure, pastureland is favoured by many insects, thus also providing more food for birds. In fact, the study showed that organic animal farms were particularly beneficial to insectivore birds, such as swallows and starlings.

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Tell us: have you spotted any netting to stop birds nesting? - RSPB

We would like your help exploring the practice of netting trees so they can be removed for construction

Guardian readers

Thu 28 Mar 2019 14.35 GMTLast modified on Fri 29 Mar 2019 12.50 GMT

The RSPB is urging the public to sign a petition to help change the law on the practice of bird netting in the UK.

 Are nets to stop swallows nesting any way to treat the natural world?

Across the UK there are reports of builders and developers using nets on trees to stop birds nesting so that they can be removed in order for building work to take place.

Developers have said it is “standard practice” in order to prevent birds from nesting in a habitat that might be damaged by building work. But the charity says it hopes the petition, which has so far gathered over 170,000 signatures, will result in netting being made illegal: “We cannot keep trying to squeeze nature into smaller and smaller spaces or demanding it fits in with our plans,” it says. “People around the country are dismayed to hear about cases where birds returning from long journeys are being deliberately excluded from sites where they might choose to raise their young.”

We would like to hear from you if you have seen bird netting where you live or work or taken pictures of it and acted. We will collate some of your contributions and feature some of them as part of our reporting.

How to share your story

To get in touch fill out the form below. There is also an option to upload photographs – please tell us where and when they were taken but do not take any legal or personal risks when doing so.

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Maine farm under fire after nesting fields for declining bird species gets mowed over

Abigail Curtis

This time of year, two familiar sounds seem to signal the arrival of summer.

One is the reassuring thrum of a tractor’s engine as farmers mow their sweet-smelling hayfields. The other is the bubbling, lyrical song of the bobolink, a small grassland bird with a shrinking population that is known for its cheerful plumage and captivating voice.

But put them too close together, and the bobolink and the tractor sound more like disaster. Just ask scores of ardent bird lovers who have registered their dismay that a farmer last weekend mowed large open fields at the Hart Farm in Holden, a historical dairy farm that was purchased last year by the Holden Land Trust.

Bobolinks are known to nest there, and a few of the birders had asked land trust officials if the mowing could be delayed so that the chicks would have a better chance of survival. But the farmer leasing the land needed to make sure that the hay he cut had sufficient nutrients to feed his herd of dairy cows and couldn’t wait, according to Betty Jamison, a board member of the land trust.

“We did not go out to kill off the bobolinks — it’s just a hard balance,” she said this week. “The farmer knew the bobolinks were an issue, but there’s not much you can do about it. These have been hayed fields for years. There are other wildlife that can be damaged in mowing a field. It’s a balancing act between trying to keep habitats and to preserve farming in this area.”

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Farmers and developers urged to help breeding birds

With the bird breeding season in full swing, RSPB Scotland is urging people to consider nesting birds as they go about their work.

This follows reports fromthe public concerned about land management activities in areas where there are known to be breeding birds and other protected wildlife.

The conservation charity is appealing for land managers, developers, local authorities and foresters to give nature a home at a time when all of Scotland’s native breeding birds have either eggs or young in the nest.

Some species, such as robins, have first broods of young that have fledged and are preparing for second broods.

Many Scottish bird species have suffered long-term population declines, with farmland species particularly hard hit. Populations of lapwing and curlew both dropped 56% between 1995 and 2011, while oystercatchers suffered a 30% decline. The number of starlings dropped 40% over the same period, and the skylark population fell by 19%.

In recent years, Scotland’s breeding birds have had to contend with tough conditions, including prolonged wet periods and heavy downpours, which can result in nest failures and the deaths of fledged young birds.

It is therefore vital that when weather conditions are right, such as they have been this summer so far, they produce good numbers of young to help boost their populations.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB Scotland’s head of species and land management, said: “We are appealing to all land managers to help with the conservation effort and give our birds a home this summer. This is a very sensitive time and it is helpful to avoid actions - such as rolling fields, clearing scrub, cutting hedges or felling trees - that can often be deferred to a less critical time of the year for wildlife.

“Farmers can also help by moving the nests of ground nesting birds such as lapwing and oystercatchers short distances out of danger while carrying out field operations, and watching out for young wading birds scuttling around in fields in June to make sure they are not caught up in farm machinery.”

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Small, Quiet Drones Let Conservationists Peek Inside Bird’s Nests

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is using remote-controlled drones to monitor nests of endangered species

By Mary Beth Griggs

SMITHSONIAN.COM 

2 HOURS AGO

Drones are everywhere, it seems, even in national parks. But while the FAA decides that fate of drone delivery and whether drones can be used by news organizations, drones are being used for a completely different purpose: birdwatching. 

The Guardian reports that, in the U.K., the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is using remote-controlled drones to monitor nests of rare birds. 

From the Guardian: 

“In the case of a marsh harrier, we might want to use it to check on the state of a nest without traipsing in," Butcher said. "We don't like to put cameras close to nests until the eggs have hatched, because the birds can be prone to deserting the nest.

"But with the drone you can scoot it round to confirm the state of the nest. The alternative is having eight or ten people trampling through a reed bed in knee-high waders causing a lot of disturbance."

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