Reed Bunting
Reed Buntings are sparrow-sized but slim, with a deeply notched tail.
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Advice
Reed Bunting conservation - Advice for farmers
The reed bunting is found in a wide range of farmland types, but is rare in upland areas.
On this page
Reed buntings in brief
The UK population fell sharply in the 1970s-90s, with a partial recovery since the turn of the century.
Key points
- Boost insect food by maintaining wet habitats, using low-input crop options or creating buffer strips.
- Provide seed food through the winter with wild bird seed mixtures or overwinter stubble, or by allowing some grass to set seed.
What this species needs
Insects to feed to chicks in the spring and summer
Reed Bunting chicks are fed almost exclusively on insects and spiders until they fledge.
Lots of seeds throughout the year
Adults eat a variety of insects and seeds. They feed mainly in grasslands which are not grazed or cut in the spring, such as arable field margins and hay meadows. They also find seed on cropped land, such as winter stubbles and weeds in the crop margin. They can find food in wet areas, including boggy field corners and grassy fringes of ponds and wet ditches.
Safe nesting cover
Reed Buntings nest in a variety of farmland habitats including ditch edges and crops. They occasionally nest in hedges. Leaving field margins and ditch banks uncut will provide good nesting habitat.
How to help
On arable land
- Create grass margins around arable fields for nesting habitat. Include species such as cocksfoot in the seed mix to create tussocks. After the margins are established, cut only in the autumn once every three years.
- Avoid cutting all margins in the same year. Select margins that are adjacent to wet ditches or other watercourses.
- Adopt conservation headlands. Avoid spraying the outer 6m of cereal fields with insecticides or herbicides targeted at broad-leaved weeds. This enables beneficial insects and chick food for reed buntings to survive.
- Spray and cultivate stubbles as late as possible. This provides important winter feeding habitat.
- Wild bird cover crops can also provide vital seed food through the winter. Kale, oilseed rape and quinoa are particularly beneficial to reed buntings.
On grassland
- Introduce arable fodder crops or small plots of wild bird cover to provide a seed-rich habitat in pastoral areas. Maize is probably not of value to reed buntings unless it is undersown with a seed-bearing crop.
- Retain any unimproved wet meadows on the farm. These are important areas for a wide range of farmland wildlife including reed buntings, and can attract agri-environment scheme funding.
Maintain wet areas
- Maintain ponds with tall, grassy fringe vegetation. This will provide a habitat for feeding and nesting.
- Cut river, stream and ditch banks after August on a two or three-year rotation to provide some nesting habitat every year.
- Retain wet field corners. Delay cutting until September to provide nesting cover.
