The summer months are a natural time for people to head outside to enjoy the British countryside and its wildlife. Given that around three quarters of land in the UK is used for farming, the chances are that if you are enjoying wildlife outside of a nature reserve, it will be on farmland.
Luckily there are farmers making great efforts to give nature a home on their farms, often with the help of RSPB and other advisors.
As well as being a great time to look for wildlife on farms, June is also when the annual Open Farm Sunday event takes place. Organised by LEAF, this is an opportunity for farmers across the country to invite the public onto their farm and give an idea of what they do there.
What to look out for
Many of our most treasured and iconic native species, from skylarks, turtle doves and curlews to hares, cornflowers and many insects, tend to live on farmland.
Late spring will see our countryside bursting with life. Wildflower meadows and field margins, with plants like birdsfoot trefoil, knapweed and cornflowers, are in full bloom. Farmland provides important habitat for these plants, which in turn support the insects that are vital for pollinating the crop and providing food for hungry birds and bats. Some, including hoverflies, also provide natural pest control. Look out for bumblebees including the common carder bee, and butterflies such as the gatekeeper and brimstone.
Wildflowers on farmland. Image: www.rspb-images.com
Hedgerows offer a wealth of wildlife, from plants such as hawthorn and elder, to nesting birds and small mammals. Many farms also have features that are not directly related to agriculture, such as ponds or patches of woodland. Maintaining these habitats will help to boost the amount of wildlife on the farm too.
While the birds are in the midst of the breeding season, their main focus is on finding food to feed their young. To see them through the winter and into the next breeding season, many birds need a helping hand from farmers to find the seed food they rely on during the winter and early spring. By leaving stubbles after harvest or even providing dedicated areas of the farm planted with seed-bearing plants, farmers can help birds such as yellowhammers, linnets and corn buntings to survive until the plentiful summer period. They may well be rewarded with impressive flocks, as many birds move onto farmland from urban areas or garden feeding in the summer to take advantage of the food available.
Yellowhammer eating seed on farmland. Image: www.rspb-images.com
Grazing animals can also help to maintain important habitats for a variety of wildlife. By managing the density of the livestock grazing, the farmer can help to provide a diversity of grasses which in turn provides a variety of structures and habitats within the grassland which will appeal to a greater range of wildlife. In the uplands, the mix of wet and dry habitats, different vegetation heights and structure provide important habitat for a number of species of high conservation importance which have been lost from many other parts of the UK (golden plovers and curlews for example). Many rarer invertebrates are also found in these habitats including the large heath and marsh fritillary butterflies, the golden-ringed dragonfly, bilberry bumblebees and the tormentil mining bee.
You can find out more about the importance of farming to wildlife, as well as how RSPB is helping farmers to help nature, by visiting our website.
Get out on 11 June to support Open Farm Sunday
The RSPB is getting involved in Open Farm Sunday in various places and in various ways, from events at our own reserves, many of which include farmed areas, to volunteers and staff helping visitors to spot the wildlife at local farms.
Ian Dillon, farm manager at RSPB’s own Hope Farm says, “This is a great chance for people to visit working farms near them. For farmers, this is a chance for us to show people how our food is produced and our countryside managed. It can make the link between the food we eat, the farming that produces it and the nature on which farming depends. Farms can be a rich source of wildlife and this is a chance for me to show this off to the local community.”
Visitors to Hope Farm on Open Farm Sunday. Image: Ellie Crane
To find out if there is a farm near you taking part, see www.farmsunday.org (or www.openfarmweekend.com in Northern Ireland). As well as learning about the farming operations, why not look out for nature on the farm or ask the farmer how they help attract wildlife onto their farm?