Over the last couple of days I've taken you East and North in this virtual tour of our work with farmers and crofters in Scotland. Today is our final stop - where we hear from projects in South and West Scotland....
Clyde Valley Wader Initiative
The Upper Clyde Valley is one of the most important areas for waders in South and West Scotland. This was first highlighted by a local enthusiast in the 1980s, who counted individual birds on over 9000 hectares. Around 2000 birds were recorded at 14 of the sites in a single year. Several surveys have been carried out in the area since, and some resurveys in 2005. Across three sites for which there is data, four out of five species had decreased. A resurvey of some of these sites in 2012 showed that there are still areas which hold nationally important populations of redshank, curlew and oystercatcher.
RSPB have been working with Scottish Agricultural College Consulting since 2007, inputting into and providing support to farmers applying for agri-environment schemes where specific options are included that can benefit waders. Over forty farms were successfully entered as part of the initiative, bringing in over £1 million to the area in agri-environment payments.
In 2013 the area became a focus for our farmland advisory work. Baseline data is being collected along five valleys, which will then be repeated in three-yearly cycles to determine population change. Detailed habitat data is also being collected so bird data can be reviewed in connection with conditions on the ground.
Image: Redshank in breeding plumage by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
The initiative recently received funding from a Community Windfarm grant, which is being offered to farmers and landowners in the area to carry out management for waders, such as rush control and scrape creation, outside of or in addition to agri-environment schemes. Through this funding, we have also been able to support a local Heritage Centre, who will be displaying information about waders and the importance of the area for these species.
One site is now being assessed for it’s suitability to be part of a research project focusing on habitat optimisation and predator control, and another, with the hope of including more, is being used as part of a trial looking into soil improvement for waders through liming.
Berwickshire Arable Wildlife Project
East Berwickshire is predominately an arable farming area. The RSPB has been working with several farmers in East Berwickshire for many years through the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance project, providing advice and input into agri-environment schemes at a farm scale. Through these surveys, and a few projects that have run in the area over the years, it is known that the area hosts all nine of the key arable species found in Scotland - yellow wagtail, corn bunting, yellowhammer, reed bunting, skylark, lapwing, linnet, tree sparrow, grey partridge.
Image: Tree sparrow by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
The aim is to survey at least 30 farms over three years, and then carry out repeat surveys in three-yearly cycles. In 2013 eleven farms were surveyed covering almost 900 hectares, and detailed habitat mapping was carried out, as well as collection of SRDP information. All species except corn bunting were picked up during the surveys, with farms holding between three and seven of the key species. In 2014 we will be surveying another eleven farms, most of which have not been surveyed before. Detailed reports and advice will be given to all farmers and landowners who participate in the project.
The project currently works in partnership with Butterfly Conservation, with five farms being surveyed for butterflies in 2014, and at least one for moths. We also hope to involve the local community, particularly children and school groups in constructing, placing and monitoring tree sparrow nest boxes, and also in working with Buglife to assess invertebrate life in arable field margins, which will help us to provide better advice on how they can be improved.