Conservation Scientist, PhD | Wildlife recovery & farmland biodiversity | evidence driven *views & mistakes my own*
England, United Kingdom
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On the other hand, the same statement is correctly used as an argument for re-wilding. To re-nature the UK & bring back some of its original habitats that were lost since humans arrived, like our amazing temperate rain forests, ancient lowland woodlands & upland forests.
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The paradox: Most of today's UK landmass is farmland, hosting a significant and hence important amount of its biodiversity. Imagine a UK with no farmland birds, arable flora - much of it introduced via grain trades from the Middle East and the Mediterranean - and no brown hares!
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Just imagine the UK of today without hedges, lowland and upland pastures, hay meadows, water meadows and even chalk grasslands. The latter are amongst the most species-rich habitats of all UK habitats today. Entirely man/livestock-made by #farmers .
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This woodpigeon literally bit the dust.
Gostly imprint left on back door window, corpse below.
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You might have seen recent reports of #turtledove being released in the UK in an attempt to help them recover. Read my blog to find out why I, and many others, don't think this is a good idea.
gwct.org.uk/blogs/news/2026/…
Web photo credit: Anastasiia Merculova
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Dinner sorted (600g): Orange Birch Bolete if I'm not mistaken. Last year the cows in the woodland pasture got there before me. This year I managed to beat them to it, but left plenty of specimen behind as any responsible forager should.
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Nice blog about my #kestrel nest box study, written by my #placementstudent
from @UniofReading @readingstudents gwct.org.uk/blogs/news/2026/…
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Why do people with gardens at this time of the year run to supermarkets and buy #fruit - often non-seasonal and from distant countries like South Africa - when they could be growing a wide variety themselves with little effort? Home grown food tastes much better and is 100% eco.
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It"s this time of the year again: #greypartridge counting in the @GWCT Sussex study area. I love when a covey of greys come and look at you as if to say "hey you. funny looking fellow, what are you doing in our stubble field?"
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#Kestrels don't like #greysquirrels as this video captured with a @PerdixDigital camera nicely documents. Despite the unwelcome intrusion, the brood hatched successfully. I guess the female just returned to the box before it was too late. @Gameandwildlife
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I'm🙂to announce that I secured funding @NaturalEngland #SpeciesRecoveryProgramme to develop a conservation solution to minimize the negative effects of secondary rodenticide poisoning of kestrel broods via contaminated prey. #KestrelsandRodenticides
gwct.org.uk/news/news/2026/j…
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Once large areas of arable farms across England look like this, we can start thinking about re-introductions. But not before like currently seems to be the trend among many conservationists. Experience tells us that most reintroductions don't succeed long-term. @TonyJuniper
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To recover some of our most threatened farmland wildlife, we need efficient habitat options that deliver for a multitude of species year-round. They also need to be easy to establish and manage, and they need to be subsidised with a competitive amount of money.
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I am currently collecting insect samples from these wildflower #wildbirdmixes to demonstrate their superior value for many to @NaturalEngland. They provide pollen & nectar during the whole flowering season & suitable nesting & wintering habitat for a huge range of insects.
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The high-quality habitats in this fabulous example are centered around a historic bramble/nettle field edge. The farm added a #conservationheadland, and a wildflower #wildbirdmix. Both were invented and developed by @Gameandwildlife. There are also excellent flower-rich margins.
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Farmland #biodiversity can only be maintained & recovered with enough good habitat. This only exists where farmers are passionate about wildlife & if they can afford it. The latter depends on a good AES. Here, in the @sdnpa, some of the best habitat options have come together.
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Some farmers take perfection to another level: @OakbankGame #advancedPARTRIDGEmix alongside a pristine field of winter wheat.
Seen near Winchester, Hampshire.
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How about this for a high-quality wildlife habitat on farmland? Seen today near West Wittering Beach thanks to the amazing work of wildlife-friendly farmer @andygentle. Full of insects now, and I bet full of warblers during autumn migration before setting off across the Chanel.
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Started a new research project which involves taking D-vac and sweep net insect samples from @OakbankGame wildbird mix #advancedPARTRIDGEmixes comparing them with other wildlife habitats. This particular one was established in 202O and was absolutely heaving with insects today.
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I then went on to see @GrahamDenny9 who lives just 24 min down a twisty Suffolk road and knows more about hedges & CO than most ecologists. Also he is the proud host of several #turtledove which survive in that corner of EN thanks to the passion and knowledge of men like them.
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Went to see wildlife-friendly Suffolk #farmer Patrick Barker @The_Barker_Boys today, to learn more about what drives his passion for farmland wildlife recovery, and was promptly rewarded by a singing #turtledove at one of his 32 ponds. Fabulous!
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In case you didn't know: this famous proverb means that a single positive event/small sign doesn't guarantee lasting success or permanent improvement. The saying refers to Aesop's fables where a young man carelessly sells his winter coat after spotting the 1st swallow in spring.
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I know, 'a single #swallow doesn't make a summer', but this first nest in our shed in more than 15 years since the last, must surely be a sign of even better things to come in the future.
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There isn't much that feels more uplifting than a #swallow nesting in your own shed. After more than 15 years, they finally came back to nest at our house. There is something quite magical about them.
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Please consider making a donation - small or big - which will go towards producing new conservation evidence that will help #solitarybees find suitable nesting sites on UK's farmland.
BTW they are completely harmless.
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#Solitarybees are crucially important pollinators for wildflowers and crops. Sadly, they continue to decline. Many nest in bare soil patches on farmland. This appeal helps fund important research which ultimately aims to influence AES policy. #bringthebuzzback
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I visited a farmer friend in the Wessex Downs who took over the management of an estate 5 years ago. Admiring his impressive wildlife habitats along pristine crops I asked him: 'How did you manage to transform this place so dramatically? He replied: ' You taught me, remember?' ☺️
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Imagine not knowing what a #Skylark sounds like...
Heard this morning at 3:30am from my bedroom window thanks to my wildlife-friendly farmer neighbour.
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Guess which of these two neighbouring farmers is focused on soil health and wildlife friendly farming, and which of the two just continues to farm conventionally despite increasing temperatures and less rain in spring?
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This kestrel brood was predated by a jackdaw. However, another 18 we are monitoring have fledged successfully. Breeding population is up 50% compared to last year. So, what I am saying is that one piece of evidence doesn't explain the whole situation.
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Needs must. During the recent rainy period, this #kestrel male resorted to the most obvious alternative prey to feed his incubating partner: a worm.
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#Cornspurrey (Sperula arvenis), Vulnerable. Not something you see every day, and certainly not in these numbers. Seen in a newly sown #GWCTwildlifemix @Bright_Seeds on a farm in East Hampshire.
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A #swallow's nest may not look particularly beautiful from below - not considering the amazing architectural skills involved of course - but from above it seems like fairies have been at work. This one in our shed has been lined with pigeon 🪶 🪶 to protect and insulate the 🥚🥚.
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I did the same during the recent period of no rain - before the downpour of more recent rain - and was promptly rewarded with the first swallow nest in our shed in more than 15 years since the last time they bred at our cottage. There is young stock close by...
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We shall keep a lookout for them down south in our project... Let us know if you get one of ours in return 😜.
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Look at me: I'm a #kestrel chick, fierce and well fed, and almost ready to fledge three weeks ahead of the average annual schedule.
It's a great year for our amber-listed kestrels in Southern England. Nest boxes help them recover.
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When the predator becomes prey: These 📷 captured how a jackdaw found one of our tree #kestrel box broods. It appears to 1st kill the brood, then eat at least 1 chick on the spot. The kestrel female a little later carried off one of the dead chicks, presumably to eat it herself.
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We are in the middle of our #kestrel monitoring pilot project with most broods still incubating, some almost completely hatched and two already two weeks old. In any case it's a great year for them in East Hampshire, England this year with rodents being very abundant.
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This #lesserwhitethroat is singing in what looks to me a random bush right in the Centre of Vienna, while in England, with all the nice hedges we've got there - I know not all are equally nice - we rarely get to hear one. Isn't that fascinating?
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Not where I would ever have expected to see my first wild hamster. Hamsters used to live on farmland across most of Central Europe. Sadly, their unmatched appetite for crop seeds made them a hated pest and where they weren't killed, modern farming practices gave them the rest.
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Watching a wild #hamster go along their business is a real delight and privilege. They are very rare across much of Europe these days after all.
In Meindling cemetery in the Centre of Vienna, they found a safe refuge where, with a little bit of patience, one can easily see them.
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I'm giving a block course on farmland wildlife conservation at the BOKU University of Vienna this week. One aspect I cover is rare #arableflora. So I was delighted to find a patch dedicated to some of these ultra rare plants in the Botanical garden: this is Shepherd's needle.
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#Starlings are ready to fledge in East Hants already. They take only around 21 days from hatching to fledging with females coordinating the start of incubation within their colonies. This results in all young leaving pretty much on the same day. @_BTO
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Not often I hear #gardenwarbler and #blackcap sing an apparent duet. They sound so similar but couldn't be more different. While the former is a long-distance migrant wintering in sub-saharan Africa, the latter increasingly spends the winter in England.
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When I moved on a farm in East Hants 20 years ago, there were no #stonechats anywhere. I recorded the first pair in one of my @OakbankGame #PARTRIDGEmixes in 2020. Now, they are nesting in the bramble along the driveway to our cottage. Nice to see a bird increase for a change.
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