They are being asked to spend 30 minutes spotting species on their patch of land between February 8 and 17, with the results establishing which farmland birds are thriving due to good conservation efforts, whilst also identifying those in most need of help.
Dave Parish, GWCT Scotland’s head of lowland research, said: “Many farmers do a lot on their farms to encourage birds and other wildlife, but the wider public doesn’t really seem to appreciate that yet.
“We are hoping that as many farmers as possible will spend just half an hour counting birds on a part of their farm so that we can tell everyone about the good work that is going on.”
Last-year saw a record-breaking 1000 responses to the UK count, recording 121 species across 950,000 acres. A total of 25 red-listed species were recorded, with five appearing in the 25 most commonly seen species list.
Once all the data are in the results will be analysed by the trust and all participants will receive a report on the national results once they have been collated.
The Big Farmland Bird Count is sponsored by the NFU, and partnered by FWAG, LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), Kings, Perdix, NFU Scotland and the CLA.
To take part: Download a count sheet from www.bfbc.org.uk Count your birds. On a day between 8 and 17 February, spend about 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the farm.
* Submit your results at www.bfbc.org.uk
Photo credit: GWCT
