Boom in wild birds
Wild bird populations in
Yorkshire are increasing following a deal last year which saw farmers
agree to create new habitats for wildlife.
Figures
published yesterday by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs show native wild bird populations in the region have risen by
21 per cent, slightly above the national trend. Coots, ravens and
buzzards are species which are thriving.
Woodland birds have increased by 15 per cent in the period between 1994 and 2004, well above the national trend. Over
half of the 30 individual species increased by 10 per cent or more with
improvements including chiffchaff and nuthatch populations.
Farmland
bird populations however, showed no significant change, increasing by
only four per cent between 1994 and 2004. There have been marked
declines in populations of grey partridge and starling, although stock
doves and tree sparrows have fared well.
This increase in wild bird
populations contrasts with earlier declines. Populations in the region
fell by 21 per cent between 1970 and 1994 – compared with a fall of
eight per cent for England over the same period.
The indicators are
based on the Breeding Bird Survey, which provides comprehensive
information on the medium- term changes in bird populations across the
UK.
The figures appear to vindicate the Entry Level and Organic
Entry Level Stewardship scheme to which almost 2,000 farmers have
signed up since last August.
That has brought nearly a quarter of a
million hectares of countryside into environmentally friendly
management – about 20 per cent of all farmland in the region.
Most English regions showed no significant change in farmland bird populations over the period 1994 to 2004.
The
exceptions were the West Midlands, where the farmland birds fell by 14
per cent; the South East, where the decline was 12 per cent; and the
North West – 15 per cent. This compares with an overall English
decrease of five per cent over the same period.
The largest increase in woodland species was in the North West – by 26 per cent.
Environment
Minister Elliot Morley said: "The reasons for changes in the size of
bird populations or variations between different parts of the country
are not clear-cut, and not always simple to explain. The figures
continue to suggest that the decline in farmland birds has stabilised."
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