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Cornwall corn bunting recovery project

Corn bunting perched on stone wall
Corn buntings - now few and far between

Huge declines in south-west England's corn bunting population means that at the last estimate (2006), there are less than 120 corn buntings in Cornwall, with fewer than 30 breeding territories.

Working with local farmers, Claire Mucklow, RSPB Cornwall Project Manager, has the task of bringing the corn buntings back from the brink.

Why are Cornwall’s corn buntings so important?

Corn buntings are now extinct in Devon and Somerset, and the remaining population is found west of a line between Bristol and Dorchester on the coastal strip of north Cornwall. Corn buntings are open country birds, found on arable farmland. But over the past 25 years, they have declined by over 80% in the UK, and disappeared from over 30% of their former range.

What is being done in Cornwall?

Since 2001, in partnership with Natural England, the RSPB has been  working in target areas in Cornwall to reverse the declines of farmland birds, particularly corn buntings.

2006 saw the start of a 3 year intensive research project, looking at the nesting habits of corn buntings in the county. It is hoped that the results will help to inform future corn bunting friendly management elsewhere in the UK too.  Farmers have been very supportive and are managing large areas of their land especially for the ‘Corn dumpling’

What you can do

If you farm along North Cornwall’s coast and would like to find out more about conservation for farmland birds, Claire can visit your farm and give free practical advice on land management, and if appropriate, help draw up grant applications for Entry Level and Higher level agri-environment schemes.

If you are walking the north Cornish coast between April and September and hear or see corn buntings singing, please send Claire a note of the date and grid reference, plus information on any colour rings if observed using the contact e-mail below. This will help us to locate individual pairs and protect them further.

If you see flocks of corn buntings anywhere in Cornwall in winter, please send Claire details, including numbers, using the contact e-mail below.

Contact

Claire Mucklow

Cornwall Projects Officer

Tel: 01392 432691

E-mail: claire.mucklow@rspb.org.uk

Last modified: 29 May 2007

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