If you want to help corn buntings what do they need? A load of large bodied insects during the breeding season is a good start. What about Tree sparrows? Well a good supply of water borne invertebrates makes for tasty meals for any young tree sparrow.
Making room for farmland birds on a farm requires the creation of habitats that will rebuild the ecosystem that supports that farmland bird. This may include more seeding or nectar rich plant species and in turn those habitats will support a range of nectar loving or even seed eating invertebrates.
The success of many farmers in the South West ensuring the Cirl Bunting has a future on their farms means they haven’t just simply protected this beautiful bunting but they have also increased the numbers of crickets and other insects through careful management and creation of habitats.
And that’s the thinking behind Buglife partnering with the RSPB in the East of England. So if you happen to be farming in the East give your local adviser a call about bugs, birds or any other farm wildlife you want to help and we will do our best to help you do just that.
The partnership hopes to significantly increase the number of farmers across the region receiving advice on bug, bird and other wildlife friendly farming methods, and provide a one-stop-shop to help them protect a wider variety of wildlife on their land.
Buglife is working to protect a range of rare farmland invertebrate species in the East of England including the Shining ram’s-horn snail which is found in ditches and the Large garden bumblebee that needs wildflower-rich meadow land and wetland
My new bug-loving friend Richard Smith, Buglife farming & Pollinator Officer said: “Working with the RSPB is good news for invertebrates and good news for the countryside. Invertebrates are very important: they play a vital part in pollinating our crops and wild plants, and helping to maintain healthy soil. By providing farmers with the appropriate advice, they will be able to help conserve our essential farmland invertebrates”.
As a result of this new partnership, RSPB advisors in Eastern England will be able to deliver advice on protecting a multitude of invertebrate species including slugs, snails, bees, wasps, ants, spiders, beetles and butterflies.
East Anglia is dominated by arable farmland, an area on which many species rely for their survival. With 1.47 million hectares of land in the region dedicated to agriculture, to ensure a healthy future for some of our most vulnerable creatures, it is crucial that the management of this landscape takes the needs of wildlife into account.
If we are to support the EU governments target to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2020, it is increasingly important for conservation organisations like the RSPB and Buglife to work together with many more farmers.
The new partnership means that we can now pool our resources to assist farmers across the East to save all nature. Protecting and enhancing farmland bird populations requires the reconstruction of broken ecosystems and since insects provide essential food for birds, it makes sense that we help farmers to protect them too.