Hope Farm diary

Hope Farm June 2011

2011-06-02T19:12:00Z

Crops

You can’t be a farmer without talking about the weather. Articles in the farming press this week look at how the crop yields across Britain will fare in this prolonged dry period. At Hope Farm a minor miracle happened in the last week when we had some rain. Admittedly it was just 6 mm but it is better than nothing. This brings our total over the last two months to about 12mm well short of what we would like. The cracks in the ground are impressive. If this dry weather continues we can expect an early harvest and low yields. The lack of rain has left us with some difficult management decisions including how much nitrogen to apply and when; when to apply the fungicides to the wheat and whether to apply another insecticide to the spring beans. The most prolonged discussion was about the nitrogen. The contractor and agronomist finally agreed that it was sensible to reduce the amount we applied during our second application to account for the lack of rain. We have also delayed sowing some grass margins, these will probably be established in the autumn now.

Birds & Wildlife

We are now about half way through the breeding season. It is far too early to be definitive about the final numbers what I can say is it looks encouraging. Probably the most exciting records are two pairs of Corn Bunting regularly using our fallow plot trials. This is a species we identified as a key target within the new strategy primarily because they have only breed once, in 2001, on Hope Farm. Hopefully they will now settle to breed soon. Corn Buntings are one species which RSPB are currently researching because the numbers continue to fall across the country. They only start breeding in early June. This is a lot later than the majority of farmland species, for example skylark’s which start in April. We believe that this is one factor in their decline. Our research is trying to find solutions that will extend the breeding season and we are working with farmers to manage specially created areas.

Away from the excitement of the Corn Buntings there are other great stories. We will break our previous starling records with 20 pairs in nest boxes this year with 92 chicks individually colour ringed this year. This is a remarkable 50% increase in chicks from last year. By individually marking the nestlings using a unique combination of colour rings it allows us to monitor where they feed and how long they live. Monitoring our starling population forms part of our grassland research on the farm. Migrants including our swallows, whitethroats and turtle dove all arrived several weeks earlier this year than last, it will be interesting to see how many we have recorded by the end of the breeding season.

Countryfile visit

Two weeks ago John Craven and the Countryfile team were at the farm filming a piece with Martin Harper, RSPB’s new director of Conservation. The piece talks about farmland bird declines and whether predators are the central cause for their declines. The piece went out last Sunday.

Finally,

This will be last post as farm manager before I move to Scotland as the RSPB’s Advisory Manager for Scotland. I have been very lucky to have been manager of this project for the last 5 years. Thanks to our members, farmers and colleagues for their continued support throughout my time.

Chris Bailey

Campaign for the Farmed Environment

2011-03-28T21:29:00Z

The Campaign for the Farmed Environment had its first anniversary in November. The aim of the campaign is to promote voluntary management of farmland to 're-capture' set-aside benefits from a relatively small area of well located and positively managed land. It unites the key industry organisations - NFU, CLA, LEAF, FWAG, AIC, AICC, CAAV and GWCT- who are working in partnership with Defra and its agencies, Natural England and the Environment Agency, and the RSPB in order to deliver advice to farmers on how they might best retain and increase the environmental benefits provided by their farmland in a targeted and agronomically sensible way.

The campaign concentrates on three main themes:

1) Farmland Birds

2) Farm Wildlife

3) Resource Protection

Find out how we are meeting these objectives at Hope Farm

Birds

The start of another summer at Hope Farm. Grey partridge calling, skylark singing, yellowhammer displaying. It looks as though it could be another good summer count if the wintering birds stay throughout the summer. Of course only time will tell how well we do this summer once our research staff complete their summer bird monitoring program. This starts in late March and finishes at the end of June. The first migrants have just arrived with several chiffchaffs and a blackcap calling in the orchard. No doubt in the next few weeks, numerous swallows, whitethroats and the occasional turtle dove will be recorded.

I wonder if there is any chance of a cuckoo this year. This is one bird we see far less often over recent summers. The warm weather in the last few days has encouraged some early butterflies, with four species recorded on our first transect last week. These were peacock, brimstone, comma and red admiral.

The bird numbers this winter were incredible no doubt helped by the cold, snowy, weather. During the snow they were attracted to areas of wild bird cover. From the bird’s perspective this crop was essential. These areas, which are specifically designed to provide over winter seed food, normally don’t attract large flocks until December. Not this year. I had never seen such large numbers, at Hope Farm, on such small areas. They included 300 skylark, 250 yellowhammer, 150 linnet and 50 reed buntings. There were also over 50 grey partridge wandering around the stubbles. A fantastic bird spectacle.

In general winter bird numbers were great with record counts in every month. Staff and volunteers completed monthly counts between October and March. This involves them walking around the boundary and centre of each field. Numbers of the common farmland species such as skylark, yellowhammer and linnet maintained early promise. Interestingly the counts also recorded two firsts for the farm when one observer caught sight of two waxwing and a Jack Snipe.

Cropping

The crops are growing well and it will not be long before we are reporting another harvest. This year the establishment and management of the crops have been relatively routine for the contractor. This included a comprehensive autumn grass weed programme. Following a cold winter we moved into a dry March.

The spring beans were sown in mid February using a brand drill recently bought by the contractor. This machine is very impressive, moving the soil, sowing the seed and then compacting the soil all in one pass. It is amazing to see the speed and precision with which they were able to establish the crop. The wheat and oilseed rape have received the first batch of fertilizer. The only work left to be completed is establishment of some wild bird cover which should be sown in the next couple of weeks.

Harvest and bird results for 2010

2010-11-25T16:34:00Z

Birds

Summer – Breeding season

The 2010 bird analysis was completed a weeks ago and the results have exceeded expectations. Our farmland bird index now stands 201% higher than in 2000 with turtle dove and reed buntings at record numbers. The index is a collective population trend using the same 19 species as the national farmland bird indicator. Find out more about the farmland bird index.

Reed bunting increases were particularly impressive rising from 9 pairs in 2009 to 17 pairs in 2010. Yellowhammer (36 pairs), skylark (41) and linnet (30) were each down slightly from last year’s record but in context each species has at least doubled over ten years. Corn Buntings remain our biggest challenge as they continue to ignore the farm despite our best efforts. Proof we still don’t have all the answers. We will keep our fingers crossed for next year. You can see a picture of one of the turtle doves we caught on the farm in the October blog.

Winter Counts.

Monthly whole farm bird counts have taken place at Hope Farm each winter between November and March since 2000/2001 involving a small team of up to five surveyors covering the whole farm. By using the same methodology, we are able to compare how our management influences bird numbers. The November count recorded 300 yellowhammer, 60 linnets, 80 reed bunting and perhaps most importantly 4 corn bunting feeding on wild bird cover and fallow trial plots. There still remains several small covey of grey partridge. It will be interesting to see if this promising start continues throughout the winter and beats last year's figures.

Harvest

The weather is never right as far as the farming is concerned!. Last summer it was too dry hence our yields were down now its too wet delaying grass weed control in the winter wheat. Harvest was completed on 31 August with wheat yields down by 12% from last year. The only good news was the price continued to rise, thanks to worldwide supply failing to keep up with demand. The oilseed rape was broadcast a few hours before harvest whilst the winter wheat was sown mid-September.

Summer turning to Autumn

2010-10-06T20:56:00Z

It's been a while since the last blog post. The summer seems to have been a good one for many birds. In late summer we conducted some early morning bird ringing sessions out on the farm, with some surprising results.

We were amazed by the number of migrant species that were using the hedgerrows that are on the farm, as places to forage for insects and berries as well as using them as migration corridors through the arable landscape of Cambridgeshire.

Commonest species ringed was common whitethroat, with c60 birds ringed in 3 mornings along one hedgerow alone. These were closely followed by Lesser Whitethroat, the paler grey more skulking cousin (that also does a strange migratory route, instead of heading due south via Iberia like most warblers, these birds head off east and journey through mainland Europe, the Middle east and into eastern Africa).

Comparison of the two species in this photo

Even more surprising was the finding of a juvenile Nightingale, that was using the farm as a place to forage before its onward migration. Yellow wagtail, blackcap, willow warbler were all ringed along this hedgerow too as well as resident farm species such as reed bunting and yellowhammer.

During this time we also set some specialist nets for Turtle Doves, one of the fastest decline species in the UK, to mark and radio tag some birds as part of a wider RSPB project looking into aiding the recovery of this species. The pre dawn starts were worth the effort, as three of these migratory pigeons were ringed (see pic below)

Those were the heady days of late summer, now as the crops have all been harvested and next years crops are just breaking the soil surface, the last few swallows and the occasional chiffchaff can be heard around the farmyard. Last week saw the first winter migrants arrive with redwings and bramblings on the farm on the same day the third ring ouzel of the year was flushed from a wheat stubble.

In the next few weeks, winter bird monitoring will commence, we'll keep you posted of any interesting happenings.

10 years old!

2010-07-20T17:25:00Z

During the last month, RSPB has been celebrating the first ten years of Hope Farm. In this piece I will reflect on what the RSPB has learnt from the project, highlighting some of the key stories.

1) Increase in Farmland bird numbers

Obviously I need to start by looking at the results of our farmland bird surveys. In just 10 years, we have seen a steady rise in numbers of arable farmland birds breeding at Hope Farm with the overall numbers 177% higher than in 2000. Some of the key species are

Skylarks - increasing from 10 pairs in 2000 to 44 in 2009.

Linnet - increasing 6 pairs in 2000, 36 in 2009

Yellowhammer - increasing 14 pairs in 2000, 39 in 2009

Grey Partridge - 0 pairs in 2000, 5 pairs in 2009

How have we done this? By providing the big three - essentially providing a safe place to nest, summer insect food and winter seed food. You can learn more about how we deliver this concept at http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/farming/hopefarm/bigthree.asp

The research staff have just finished the breeding bird surveys for 2010 which will be reported in later postings on the blog.

2) Skylark Plots

Who would have thought that leaving small 4x4m bare areas (skylark plots) in winter wheat, could help Skylarks. Research at Hope Farm showed that these plots could increase the nesting opportunities producing up to 50% more chicks. Find out more about skylark plots by following http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/farming/advice/details.asp?id=222883

3) It's more than just birds!!

We have been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to call on staff and volunteers able to monitor a range of other wildlife. This program has included butterflies, moths, dragonflies, surface and crop dwelling insects, small mammals and bats. To me the results are just as interesting as the bird research. So far we have recorded more than 350 moth species, 150 plants, 450 fungi, 100 spiders. We are adding new species all the time just last week one of my colleagues saw a white-letter hairstreak butterfly feeding on one of our pollen and nectar mixtures - another first for the farm.

4) Owning an arable farm

Owning and managing our own arable farm has been very valuable experience for the RSPB. We have learnt a lot about growing crops, their pests and diseases. Food production is essential but with careful planning we have shown that it is possible to increase farm wildlife without affecting the economic return to the RSPB. Day-to-day cropping and environmental decisions are given equal weight to maximise the economic return to the farm. This philosophy is essential if we wish to influence the farming community.

5) Demonstrating the true value of conservation

When the farm was purchased, a key aim was to be able to demonstrate that farming in ways that protect and enhance the countryside is possible. Over the past ten years, the farm has attracted a huge number of visitors. As a commercial enterprise, one of the priorities for the farm is to show farmers the practical implications of our work, but it does not stop there. Policy-makers, farm advisors and farming organisations are just a few of the people who have an influence on the day-to-day management decisions taken by farmers. Finally I can't forget our members, without your fantastic contributions we would not have bought the site in the first place.

Lets Hope the next ten years are equally succesful.

Rain at last!!

2010-06-03T21:04:00Z

It’s been a fantastic few weeks with the sun shinning brightly and swallows flying around the orchard. That’s of course unless you are trying to grow crops or sow wild bird cover. We finally had some proper rain at the start of June, which was great for the wheat but less helpful for the visitors. From a crop management perspective the dry weather has pros and cons. One advantage has been low fungal disease level within the wheat. Our winter wheat variety, Oakley, is susceptible to a range of diseases including yellow and brown rusts, but these have been very effectively kept in check by the dry conditions.The major disadvantage was the effectiveness of post emergence grass weed control. Blackgrass populations are high this year with the spray post Christmas having little effect. The oilseed rape has just about finished flowering and the contractor is already preparing for harvest normally around mid July.

Away for the main commercial crops, we have concentrated on sowing areas of wild bird cover, pollen and nectar and flower rich mixes as part of a new experimental area and establishing, with the help of some specialist contractors two small areas of Miscanthus and Willow Coppice primarily for demonstration purposes.

Bird numbers are looking promising although there is the normal caveat that we have yet to complete the breeding season monitoring. Certainly as I walk the farm there are plenty of skylark, linnet and reed bunting but perhaps fewer yellowhammer than last year. We are also recording regular turtle dove and grey partridge which is pleasing. The dry weather appears has been a bonus for the starlings with productivity from the nest boxes unusually high. You can read more about the starling ringing and research work in previous blogs.

We have now started work on the next five year strategy, some the studies we intend to carry out over the next year will include:

Biodiversity/Carbon - Starting a new project to assess if ryegrass margins have the potential to provide winter seed to benefit birds such as yellowhammer and assess how effective they are at storing carbon.

Diffuse pollution - working with an MSc student to assess the risks from the site and identify ways of reducing the impact from farming activities

Carbon - Identifying which mitigation options have the greatest potential for the site.

Starling Success

2010-05-26T18:30:00Z

All the occupied starling nestboxes on Hope Farm successfully fledged 50 of the 52 chicks that were ringed and monitored for body condition, a phenomenal success rate considering the cold spring, and the fact we can't remember the last time any meaningful rain has fallen on the farm. Given this success so far it will be interesting to see if any second broods occur as this is quite rare on the farm.

The cold start to the breeding season has seen few fledglings on the wing, though in the past few days juvenile Blue tits, Robins, Song Thrushes and Long tailed tits have been seen around the farm.

Linnets and Reed Buntings are now often encountered in the viscinity of the Oilseed rape fields and I'm currently monitoring a number of linnet nests. Last week, I was fortunate enough to find a calling Quail in one of these fields, even more fortunate was that I managed to see the bird fly between two fields as these tiny gamebirds hardly ever break from cover (was best described as a cricket ball disappearing over the boundary....). This was the 80th species recorded on the farm so far in 2010 (Can I find another 20 by the end of the year?)

Monitoring Update/ Starling Nestlings

2010-05-06T18:19:00Z

A busy month since the last post, lots of birds are now busy nesting on the farm and at least one brood of Robins have fledged chicks. Next week will see the halfway point of the common bird monitoring on the farm which will eventually allow us to work out population estimates for all species holding territory on the farm.

Most of the migrants have now returned for the summer and the hedgerows are currently alive with the songs of both Lesser and Common Whitethroats, whilst Swallows are inspecting the barns for suitable nest sites. We have been lucky to witness the passge of several interesting species through the farm in the past month with marsh harrier, 10+ Wheatears (a flock of 6 on one day), Whinchat and most impressively another female Ring Ouzel (6th May) . The first purring Turtle Dove was also heard this morning, a great sound of summertime.

Around the farm we have a series of Starling nestboxes which are monitored on a regular basis to determine breeding success. All the nestlings are fitted with conventional metal rings an 3 different colour rings, so we can identify individual birds in the population. This week we ringed over 50 nestlings from 12 boxes, we take various measurments to give an assesment of the condition of the birds. We will visit the boxes again in a few days time and take repaeat measurements, so we can determine growth rates of these birds over the period of a week. Attached is a photo of a 6-7 day old Starling chick.

Ring Ouzel and other farm sightings

2010-04-08T21:25:00Z

Weather for bird monitoring was much better this week (once the wind decided to drop), with most resident species now in full song around dawn. Linnets, Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings are all starting to set up territories around the farm with a noticable increase in squabbles between rival males.

Summer migrants keep appearing with Blackcap, Yellow wagtail and Willow warbler being recorded this week as well as a small increase in the number of Chiffchaffs. The highlight was however a very brief view of a female Ring Ouzel that made a fleeting visit to the western edge of the farm before continuing on its way north (wonder where she's heading too?) only the 2nd record of this species for Hope Farm.

The first of the weekly butterfly monitoring transects were also done this week and they yielded four species (Brimstone, Peacock, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell)

Summer Bird Monitoring Begins

2010-04-01T19:13:00Z

The 2010 summer bird monitoring began on Hope Farm on 31st March, over the next three months I'll monitor all fields and field boundaries once a week to determine the number of bird territories that we have on the farm.

With squally showers and a keen breeze it certainly didn't feel like summer for this weeks surveys. However, despite the cold conditions there is now quite a dawn chorus around the farmhouse dominated by Blackbird, Song Thrush, Wren, Dunnock and Robin which will hopefully to be soon joined by summer migrants. Whilst out in the field boundaries Yellowhammers, Chaffinches and Linnets are just starting to hold territory. Several species have been seen nest building including several pairs of Starlings in the nest boxes we provide around the farm and the office wall open-fronted nestbox is now host to a Robin with a clutch of five eggs.

Other notable sightings included a very close Little Owl (much to the derision of one of our chaffinches) and small groups of Fieldfare. Summer migrants seen on the farm this week include single swallows on both 30th March and 1st April, 2 Chiffchaffs on 31st March and a Wheatear on 1st April. Who knows what next weeks surveys may bring?

Red Kite and other Farm sightings

2010-03-23T18:45:00Z

My rather muddy job of washing some of the soil samples I'd collected over the winter (to look at the amount of seed our wild bird cover has produced), was brightened up last week by some great views of a Red Kite drifting north over the farm. After a quick dash to get the "bins" from the office, it was noted that the bird had a white wing tag on the left wing and red or orange tag on the right wing, so undoubtedly a bird from the Rockingham Forest introduction project. One of my favourite birds in the world, and great to see over here in eastern England.

The last whole farm winter bird count was carried out in the week with c1300 individual birds of 39 species recorded on the farm including over 100 each of Linnet, Chaffinch and Starling and 50+ of Yellowhammer and Skylark as well as an impressive 30+ reed buntings. A few Fieldfare and Redwing were still around and a Chiffchaff was noted feeding near one of the farm ponds. Wintering waders sush as Snipe and Woodcock were absent and are probably heading back to their breeding grounds.

In the next couple of weeks, the summer monitoring season starts for both birds and butterflies. Its always an exciting time of year as its possible for passage birds to turn up and it will be interesting to see how the harsh winter weather has affected the number of birds holding territory on Hope Farm.

The Next Five Years

2010-03-15T15:24:00Z

During the first ten years, the RSPB has achieved its core objective for Hope Farm, showing that increasing farmland bird populations could be achieved whilst running a profitable conventional arable farm. In fact, the results have far exceeded expectations. However, it remains clear that sadly this success is not being reflected nationally with the national Farmland Bird Indicator (FBI) best considered stable. There remains a need to export our farmland biodiversity success story so it can be translated into national increases. The Campaign for the Farmed Environment should help address this increasing the area of in field options such as wild bird cover, skylark plots and nectar mixtures.

To maximise the messages from Hope Farm we have spent the winter working on the next five year strategy, which has now successfully been taken through Board and Council. The aim is for the RSPB to expand the sites capacity to examine the developing areas of climate change and diffuse pollution, whilst continuing to build on the biodiversity successes of the last ten years, and maintaining agricultural productivity and economic returns.

In order to retain our relevance within the debate and continue to work towards our core objectives, it the Hope Farm strategy will incorporate the following four principles:

A) Maximising biodiversity

Farmland bird recovery remains a key objective for the RSPB. We are currently analysing land management decisions and bird population responses over the last 10 years to fully understand which factors have had the biggest impact on our FBI increases. This will evaluate the benefits of individual measures and assess which combination would give the most cost effective benefits in the widest range of arable scenarios. Future work will include develop agri-environment options that provide winter seed food for the "hungry gap" period - mid February to mid April as well as refining our farm management to encourage species that have failed to respond so far e.g. turtle dove and corn bunting.

B) Maintaining a profitable business

Day-to-day management decisions will continue to be given equal weight to the impacts on the economic return of the farm as to the enhancement of its environmental value. This philosophy will become even more essential with greater flexibility in commodity prices.

C) Responding to climate change

We will aim to reduce the farm's total greenhouse gas footprint by 15% within the next 5 years. We propose to develop and demonstrate measures to reduce the farm's greenhouse gas footprint in line with the proposed target for the agriculture sector. Emphasis will be placed on "lowering the carbon profile of commercial arable farming" by maximising food production per tonne of carbon.

D) Reducing diffuse pollution

Establish a robust baseline monitoring programme in consultation with conservation science, water and agricultural policy, to estimate current levels of nitrate, phosphate and soil particulate entering watercourses on Hope Farm. This programme will need to be extensive, incorporating regular and peak rainfall sampling.

Hope Farm Sightings

2010-03-08T22:00:00Z

Finally some dry and sunny weather has arrived here in Cambs. Last week saw a few interesting sightings with our Barn Owls being quite evident as the evenin. A Little Owl was also observed on the farm during the day too.

Around 60 Golden Plover were roosting on site in one of the wheat fields on the eve of 1st March, the same evening also saw 3-4 grey partridges being very vocal.

Four fly-over Mute Swans were the 59th species recorded on/from the farm since the turn of the year. I'm challenging myself to find 100 species on the farm by the end of 2010.

Signs of spring on Hope Farm

2010-02-25T22:05:00Z

Having taken on the research reins at Hope farm during the winter, I've not had chance to update this blog as I'd have liked, from now on I plan to add some sightings info and commentary on the happenings regards research on the farm.

Whilst out on the farm this morning, was fortunate enough to watch 6 Brown Hares chasing around and indulge in a small bout of fisticuffs. Skylarks have begun to sing in earnest and even the odd yellowhammer have been asking "for a bit of bread"

Yesterday saw a single Golden Plover fly south west over the farm, the first seen for a while and the Marsh tit was again frequenting the orchard, where starlings are busy inspecting the various nest boxes. Wont be too long till the first spring migrants arrive.......

December 2009

2009-12-09T01:00:00Z

Record November Count

A promising start to the winter bird counts with staff recording a record total number of birds for November. This was in part thanks to 230 yellowhammer, 60 linnets and good numbers of chaffinch and greenfinch. This is a marked improvement from the first count I helped with, back in November 2001, where the total yellowhammer numbers struggled to reach 30. A single corn bunting, woodcock and five snipe were the more unusual species recorded. Numbers of migrant species were mixed with good numbers of redwing but low counts of fieldfare and skylark.

Monthly whole farm bird counts have taken place at Hope Farm each winter between November and March since 2000/2001 involving a small team of up to five surveyors covering the whole farm. By using the same methodology, we are able to compare how our management influences bird numbers. The counts over the previous winters have shown that winter bird numbers in 2008/2009 (last winter) were 476% higher than 2000/2001. Winter seeds are provided through the wild bird cover and over winter stubbles are particularly important for the small seed eating species such as yellowhammer, linnet and reed bunting (see the previous entry) and we are still recording small coveys of grey partridge primarily within the broadcast oilseed rape. It will be interesting to see if this promising start continues throughout the winter and beats last year's figures.

1^st event for the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE)

We held our first event in support of the CFE on 26th November in conjunction with the NFU, FWAG, Natural England and the Environment Agency. This event aimed to provide training for 35 agronomists to help prepare them for their role in delivering the aims of the campaign.The campaign will encourage farmers to retain the environmental benefits of set-aside voluntarily, and avoid regulatory measures being introduced.

Three key targets have been set: Doubling the area of in-field entry level stewardship options; retaining the current level of uncropped land, and increase the area of voluntary environmental management on farm. You can find out how the farm is meeting the campaign objectives from the previous blog entry.

If you would like to attend an event or plan an event for your company, get in touch with farm-advice@rspb.org.uk and we will let you know details of future events.

Cropping

The weather is never right as far as the farming is concerned!. When we were sowing the wheat at the start of October we were praying for rain because the seedbeds were so dry, now we would like it to stop. The wet and relatively mild weather has now delayed spraying the wheat for grass weeds until probably after Christmas.