Helping farmland wildlife

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Helping farmland wildlife

Many birds are dependent on farming. Use the links to find detailed information on what they require and how to encourage them on your farm.

The barn owl is primarily a farmland bird, hunting for small mammals over rough grassland and along field edges. Barn owl population decline is largely a result of reduced food supply caused by changes in farming practices. More...

Bumblebees in north and west Scotland

The majority of bumblebee species have suffered dramatic declines in the UK. One of the most seriously threatened is the great yellow bumblebee Bombus distinguendus, a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species. More...

Bombus distinguendus feeding on knapweed

Cirl bunting

Cirl buntings are sparrow-sized buntings related to yellowhammers. They need thick, tall hedges for nesting, a good supply of seed in winter, and grasshoppers and other invertebrates to eat in spring and summer. More...

Corn bunting

Corn buntings are generally found on open arable and mixed farmland. They need a nesting habitat that remains available until the late summer, lots of seeds throughout the year, and insects and spiders to feed to chicks in the spring and summer. More...

Curlew

Curlews breed on open moorland, rough and damp pastures, unimproved hay meadows, and boggy ground; they occasionally use arable crops and silage fields. They need rough ground and tussocky vegetation for nesting from April to July and ground invertebrates during the breeding season. More...

Golden plover

The golden plover is a characteristic bird of upland habitats. Possible causes of its decline include the fragmentation of habitats by forestry, the increase in predators and the decline in heather management, eg. burning associated with grouse moor management. More...

Grey partridge

The grey partridge can be found in most farming systems except predominantly improved grasslands. It needs insects to feed to chicks in the spring and summer, lots of seeds throughout the year and safe nesting cover. More...

Lapwing

Lapwings can be found on all types of farmland, but are scarcer in purely arable or intensive grassland systems. They need bare ground or short vegetation for nesting from mid-March to June and lots of soil and ground invertebrates throughout the year. More...

Linnet

Linnets are found on farmland wherever there is a plentiful supply of seeds throughout the year. They need lots of seeds throughout the year and thick hedgerows and scrub for nesting. More...

Nightjar

The nightjar is now a scarce breeding bird of lowland heathland, forest clearings and clear-fells on suitable light soils throughout Britain north to southern Scotland, and in coppice woodland in southeast England. More...

Pink-footed goose

Internationally-important numbers of pink-footed geese now spend the winter in the UK. They feed in the arable farmland on post-harvest cereal stubbles, sugar beet tops and winter wheat crops. Damage to crops can be minimised with careful management. More...

Pair of adult pink-footed geese feeding on remains of sugarbeet crop

Red grouse

Red grouse have declined from the high population levels created by sporting interests, due to a lack of active management and increasing stocking of moors with sheep, resulting in loss of their heather habitat. More...

Redshank

Redshanks breed on wet grasslands on upland and lowland farms, and on saltmarshes. They need wet ground for feeding and grassland with a varied sward height. More...

Reed bunting

The reed bunting is found in a wide range of farmland types, but is rare in upland areas. It needs insects to feed to chicks in the spring and summer, lots of seeds throughout the year and safe nesting cover. More...

Ring ouzel

Ring ouzels breed on moorland and often use in-bye grasslands for feeding. They need mature heather or bracken on steep rocky slopes for nesting and short-grazed grassland for feeding. More...

Skylark

The skylark can be found on all types of farm. It needs seeds and weeds throughout the year, insects and spiders in the spring and summer and nesting habitat to produce up to three broods every year. More...

Snipe

Snipe breed in wet flushes on moorland, damp pasture and at the edges of watercourses. They need wet ground and tall vegetation for nesting from April to July and soft, damp soil for feeding. More...

Song thrush

Song thrushes are associated with thick hedgerows, native woodland and damp ground, especially grazed pasture. They need lots of earthworms and snails, safe nesting habitat from March until August and hedgerow fruit in the autumn. More...

Starling

UK starlings are joined in the winter months by large numbers of continental immigrants, which form the large flocks that can be seen roaming the countryside. Its decline is thought to be associated with changes in pastoral management, including loss of permanent pasture and loss of mixed farming. More...

Stone-curlew

The stone-curlew is one of the UK's rarest birds. An 85% decline in both range and numbers from the 1930s left the population concentrated in two core areas, but conservation efforts since the mid-1980s resulted in the population doubling to approximately 300 pairs by 2005. More...

Swallow

Swallows depend entirely on flying insects, both as adult food and to feed their chicks. In summer, they prefer farmland with grazed pastures and meadows, but often hunt over fields, ponds and lakes. Find out how to help and encourage swallows on your land. More...

Tree sparrow

The tree sparrow is generally found on lowland farmland with arable or mixed farming. It needs insects and spiders to feed to chicks in the spring and summer, lots of seeds throughout the year and holes for nesting. More...

Turtle dove

The turtle dove occurs on arable and mixed farmland that offers suitable nesting habitat. More...

Twite

Twites breed on moorland fringes in the upland areas of northern England and Scotland. They need an abundance of seeds throughout spring and summer and tall ground vegetation for nesting. More...

Woodlark

The woodlark is a rare breeding bird in Britain that is found on dry sandy soils on lowland heathland, farmland and in forest clearings. Until the middle of the 20th century, woodlarks were quite widespread on suitable soils south of the Humber. More...

Yellowhammer

The yellowhammer is widely distributed on all farmland types. It needs thick hedges with ditches or wide grass margins for nesting, lots of seeds throughout the year and insects and spiders in the spring and summer. More...

Yellow wagtail

The yellow wagtail is a summer visitor to the UK, arriving in April and leaving in September to winter in sub-Saharan Africa. Research into ways in which farmland management can improve the status of the yellow wagtail is ongoing, but the following management advice is based on the evidence that we currently have. More...