ARABLE FARMERS should consider including skylark plots in their Entry Level Scheme applications this month, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has advised.

Skylark numbers fell by 19% between 1994 and 2004, but if enough farmers include such plots in winter cereals, the trend can be reversed, said the RSPB’s Darren Moorcroft.

“For too long farmers have been blamed for the decline of the skylark. But rather than being the problem, we are urging farmers to be part of the solution by including skylark plots with their ELS applications.”

A payment of £5 for every 4×4 metre undrilled plot within winter-sown cereal crops is available, he said.

“Farmers only need to turn off their seed drills for a count of two seconds when sowing winter cereals…which will help skylarks access nesting and feeding areas within the dense crops.”

At the RSPB’s 181ha Cambridgeshire farm, 140 skylark plots have been created since 2001, which has led to a 170% increase in numbers of the species, to 27 nesting pairs in 2004.

“Because ELS agreements last for five years, what farmers do now will impact upon the bird until the end of the decade,” Mr Moorcroft concluded.

For more information on planning ELS applications and encouraging farmland birds, see www.rspb.org.uk.