A SCHEME involving farmers working with bird experts in the north east of Scotland is helping to preserve the existence of an iconic Scottish bird.
The corn bunting was at risk of extinction after the number of breeding pairs fell to just 800 – the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds say the bunting used to be “widespread” across Scotland.
Following rapid decline in numbers there have been several local extinctions during the last decade and the remaining pairs are mostly in east Scotland which is home to 95 per cent of Scotland’s corn buntings.
Even in their east Scotland strongholds corn buntings suffered huge declines during the 1990s and 2000s – numbers fell by 83 per cent across 30 sites.
The combination of a late breeding season, a preference for nesting in growing crops and a seed diet centred on grains along with insects fed to chicks makes corn buntings especially vulnerable to modern agricultural practices.
In an innovative project across Aberdeenshire and Moray, farmers are helping to change the fortunes of these iconic birds by working with the RSPB.
The RSPB announced the success of the scheme yesterday, saying: “Over the last 14 years, approximately 70 local farmers have worked with RSPB Scotland to monitor the number of corn buntings on their farms and conduct research about the best ways to help them.
“This year RSPB Scotland, supported by Scottish National Heritage, resurveyed 48 farms across the two counties to see how the numbers of corn buntings and other farmland birds had changed over the last few years and whether changes could be attributed to a farm’s involvement in agri-environment schemes designed to benefit corn buntings.”
Some 17 members of the local farming community met in Maud, Aberdeenshire, last week to hear an update about this year’s results from Allan Perkins, a senior conservation scientist with the RSPB.
He said: “This summer’s surveys showed that corn bunting numbers have remained stable since 2008, which is fantastic news. The event aimed to recognise the efforts made by farmers to improve the future of corn buntings in northeast Scotland.
“We wanted to thank them for their involvement in the research and monitoring that is so critical to discovering how together we can ensure corn buntings continue to be part of Scotland’s farmland bird community.”
Elaine Booth attended the event on behalf of Ednie Farms. She said: “We enjoy seeing wildlife around the farm and feel it is important that land management is carried out that supports this. Ensuring business and wildlife sustainability co-exist is vital. We are pleased to be involved in RSPB Scotland’s corn bunting project work along with many other Aberdeenshire farmers.”
This summer, a total of 246 corn bunting territories were recorded over the 48 farms compared to 232 in 2009. More detailed analysis is underway to investigate how local changes relate to agri-environment schemes.
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