Warwickshire News Mine

Birds that migrate to Africa for the winter have been particularly badly affected. Other declines have been recorded many in farmland birds such as the Grey Partridge, Tree Sparrow Skylark and Turtle Dove. But a bigger partnership of organisations including Warwickshire County Council, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), English Nature and the Forestry Commission are trying to halt and reverse these declines in Warwickshire.

The Local Biodiversity Action Plan for Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull has established targets for conserving populations threatened birds. One major source of funding and advice comes from the Rural Development Service (RDS), a branch of DEFRA. Their Environmental Stewardship schemes pay farmers and landowners to manage and create habitats and other features needed by the declining birds. 

In woodland, the Forestry Commission and organisations like Warwickshire Wildlife Trust are trying to turn the clock back to make our ancient woods look more like they did before World War II. Reduced levels of waste are also
allowing worked out quarries and gravel pits to be returned to nature.

Brandon Marsh, Kingsbury Water Park and Ryton Pools are three former gravel workings that now attract a good variety of birds. Brandon Marsh may even support breeding bitterns within a few years, which would be very exciting for a county like Warwickshire. Several more sites of this type are planned for Warwickshire in coming decades.

Steven Falk, Senior Keeper of Natural History at Warwickshire Museum, one of the local experts involved in Local Biodiversity Action Plan, said
"Getting the conditions right for birds in Warwickshire is a small but vital piece of the jigsaw for bird conservation in Britain as a whole. We cannot necessarily influence what happens to migrant birds in Africa, but we can make sure that they have places to nest and feed whilst they are in our area".

To find out more about the Local Biodiversity Action Plan, visit the website at: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/biodiversity. To get contact details for local bird recording groups you can join such as the West Midland Bird Club,
BTO and local branches of the RSPB, visit the RINGs web site at http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/rings.

Link to WCC