Was it just me - maybe it was - but was Peter Kendall in a bit of a bad mood today?
Have a look at the Farmers Guardian debate and judge for yourself.
Peter seemed very keen to have a go at me and the RSPB whatever I said.
And how predictable to see NFU mouthpiece Guy Smith going back to criticising the FBI - there is precious little acceptance, by the NFU President or by Guy Smith, that there is a problem with farmland birds. The NFU's attitude to the environment may be summed up by Peter Kendall's phrase 'wrapping (farmers) in green tape'. Remember please, NFU, that's the taxpayers' money you get and so there do have to be some rules attached to it.
But very good to see lots of good comments - many I guess from farmers who are working closely with the RSPB in all sorts of ways.
.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
Essex peasant, I am just about to start my eleventh year of farm surveys for the RSPB V&FA, offered to farmers who wish to see the effect their farming has on birds and to get advice, from the RSPB, on improving biodiversity. Most of the birds I find are the one's you catalogue above, although it seems very early to be seeing a Hobby. But, like you, I see very few Yellowhammers, Corn buntings, Linnets, Tree sparrows, Skylarks, Song thrushes and even Starlings. All these birds I think of as typical farmland birds, so where do you think they've gone?