Posted on behalf of Emily Field, Project Manager - Stone-curlew UK (EU LIFE+)
Today’s guest blog from one of our stone-curlew heroes comes from John Secker, who works a farm near Feltwell in the Brecks owned by the Cock family. Together they manage 10% of the farm’s 316 hectares of land for stone-curlews and other wildlife. John is an expert nest finder and holds a BTO licence for ringing birds. He goes the extra mile, working with the RSPB to help find stone-curlew nests, and monitors them throughout the breeding season as well as timing farm operations to avoid damaging nests and chicks.
John Secker. Image: Andrew Holland
The farm is one of five in the Feltwell and Hockwold area that have come together as part of the Brecks Nature Friendly Zone. This is a knowledge-sharing network of neighbouring farms, each sharing ideas on how best to create and manage habitat for Brecks wildlife.
"As a keen birdwatcher, I’ve always enjoyed seeing stone-curlews on the farm, and I’m pleased that the farm can provide habitat for farmland birds and other wildlife through the Higher Level Stewardship scheme. The RSPB helped with planning and setting up the scheme, and provides ongoing support with its management.
We’ve had up to four pairs of stone-curlews nesting on the farm, and we have two stone-curlew nest plots. Both sites have attracted nests, and they’ve proved good for other species – this year, we’ve had 25 turtle doves feeding on one of the plots in late summer, most likely attracted by the patches of fumitory growing on the disturbed ground. In addition to the stone-curlew plots, our HLS agreement enabled us to put lots of other measures in place to benefit farm wildlife: we’ve cultivated margins with plenty of fumitory and rare arable plants, like Venus’s-looking-glass and prickly poppy. We have spring and autumn sown bird mix with plants like linseed, millet and quinoa, providing food for finches and buntings.
In recent years, we’ve found that large flocks of tree sparrows and corn buntings have come on the farm as a direct result of the options we’ve taken. This has enabled us to host farm bird walks for the wider community, and Nature Friendly Zone farmers to demonstrate the benefits of agri-environment schemes and wildlife-friendly farming methods."