Supplementary feeding lifts winter farmland bird counts

Farms providing supplementary feeding recorded higher numbers of several farmland bird species that are in long-term national breeding decline, according to the latest Big Farmland Bird Count.

The annual survey, run by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and sponsored by the NFU, recorded 275,024 birds across 292,828ha of farmland during February 2026.

More than 1,200 submissions were received from farmers and land managers across the UK despite poor weather conditions.

See also: AI birdsong trial maps pig and poultry farm biodiversity

The highest number of survey returns came from Suffolk (139), followed by Norfolk (101) and Lincolnshire (62).

Since 2014, the Big Farmland Bird Count has provided a winter snapshot of bird abundance on farmland and highlighted the role of on-farm habitat management and agri-environment schemes.

Red-listed species such as starling, lapwing and fieldfare featured strongly in the counts, with starling the most recorded species at 25,306 birds.

GWCT said the results suggest well-managed farmland with supplementary feeding and habitat provision can provide important winter food and refuge for declining species, although this does not address the underlying causes of breeding population declines.

The organisation added that some highly mobile winter visitors, including fieldfare and gulls, are strongly influenced by weather and migration patterns, rather than long-term population change.

NFU vice-president Robyn Munt said the findings highlight the role of farmers in supporting farmland wildlife alongside food production, particularly through agri-environment schemes.

She added that continued certainty over schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive would be important for maintaining environmental management on farms.