New bid to save stone curlew
13 February 2001
New bid to save stone curlew
By FWi staff
FARMERS are being encouraged to take part in a new scheme by the Governments advisors on nature to conserve one of Britains rarest birds.
English Nature is making payments available to farmers who make their farms havens for the stone curlew in East Anglia.
There are only 250 breeding pairs in the country, 70% of which are found in stony open ground in the Brecklands.
Numbers have doubled in 10 years, thanks to sympathetic farmers who have who have avoided damaging nests and young and protected them from disturbance.
The success of the project has led to the area becoming a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Gareth Dalglish, senior conservation officer with English Nature in Suffolk said: “Our main aim is to build on the good work carried out so far.”
Payments range from 1/ha for allowing conservationists to monitor bird numbers, to up to 1900/ha for carrot crops sprayed off around nesting sites.
Farmers who create nest plots by not sowing crops and keeping land – including setaside – open and bare, can receive up to 1500/ha for carrots.
- Farmers interested in the scheme should contact Mr Dalglish at Bury St Edmunds on 01284 762218 or mobile 07970 463825
- Making a rare bird rather less rare, FWi, 12 June, 1998
- A haven for the stone curlew, FWi, 09 May, 1997