Last spring we planted the field in front of the visitor centre with a mixture of arable plants to provide food and shelter for seed-eating birds during the autumn and winter. Throughout the winter, this has been home to a sizeable flock of linnets who, now we’re moving into spring, are developing their brighter breeding plumage – the male looks like he is wearing a red bra!
(rspb-images.com)
The 40-50 strong flock is also very vocal and can be heard chattering away whilst perched in the birches on the field margin. Their pleasant tinkling song, and their ability to imitate the songs of other birds, made them a popular cagebird in Victorian society, but we’d much rather enjoy them out here in the wild!
Linnets also seem to be rather fond of gorse and are often photographed perched on top of a gorse bush (hence the common name ‘gorse thatcher’ and the picture!)
As well as being great for our flock of lovely linnets, we’ve been hearing the beautiful song of skylarks. (A sure sign for me that spring is on it’s way). This fantastic songster rises higher and higher into the sky, fluttering and singing as it goes, before plunging to the ground. Even when you can hear them singing, they’re often tricky to spot – just dancing dots way above your head.
Whilst our arable plot is providing a home to some great farmland birds, it is on a pretty small scale. At Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire the RSPB are trialling wildlife-friendly farming techniques in a bigger way.
Whilst being run as a commercial farming operation, bird numbers at the farm have increased by over 140% since 2000 with many red-listed species increasing well above expectations. One of the most iconic arable species, skylarks, has increased by an amazing 300% and the butterflies, moths and bees are also thriving.
Find out more about this project at http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/farming/hopefarm/index.aspx
One of the crops grown at Hope Farm is oilseed rape, and you can now buy bottles of our extra virgin rapeseed oil in the shop. I've been using it in my salad dressings instead of olive oil, and very nice it is too. Another way to support the RSPB and help save nature!