More than 1,000 farmers took part in this year’s Big Farmland Bird Count, recording 121 species across 950,000 acres.
Led by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, the annual count, which this year took place from 9-18 February, examines which birds are thriving and where, giving an indication of the conservation methods that are most effective. The most abundant birds overall were starlings, woodpigeons, fieldfares, rooks and chaffinches. A total of 99,712 were found, making up nearly half the total number of birds recorded. A total of 25 red-listed bird species were also recorded.
Farmers from every county in England took part, as well as some in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, plus 32 from Austria.
Survey areas included hedges, woodland ponds, grass margins, ditches and trees, with most counts…