2022 Big Farmland Bird Count: 26 red-listed species sighted as land managers help build picture of the state of farmland birds - Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
The results are in for the 2022 GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count. More than 1,900 farmers and land managers overcame challenging conditions to provide a vital snapshot of the health of our cherished farmland birds by taking part in the count, between 4-20 February.
The weather did its best to hamper efforts with two major storms hitting during the count, but dedicated farmers and gamekeepers braved the conditions to spot 130 species across more than 1.5 million acres (607,000 hectares). Over 420,000 individual birds were counted in the survey organised by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), which is now in its ninth year.
An impressive 26 red-listed species were recorded, with seven amongst the 25 most frequently seen species. Of these, starlings, lapwings, fieldfares and linnets were the four most abundant red-listed species to be spotted, with over 125,000 counted, which equates to 29% of all species recorded.
The most commonly seen species were blackbirds and woodpigeons, sighted by over 71% of participants, while more than 63% saw robins, carrion crows and pheasants. The five most abundant birds seen were woodpigeons, starlings, lapwings, fieldfares and rooks: a total of 204,398 individuals, making up over 48% of the total number of birds counted.
View full results summary here
More on:
Posted On: 18/05/2022