News
An ambitious new grant scheme - the first of its kind in England – has been launched today (Saturday, 13 September) in a bid to help declining woodland bird species in the North East of England.
The Forestry Commission in partnership with the RSPB is offering financial support to landowners and managers to improve the habitat for 14 vulnerable species, including Redstart, Tree Pipit, Spotted Flycatcher and Marsh Tit.
Wild birds are a good indicator of the general health of the countryside and they have been chosen as one of the Government's 15 headline indicators of progress towards sustainable development. However, the UK’s woodland bird population as a whole has fallen by 20 per cent in the last 25 years. Some species, such as the Lesser Redpoll and Willow Tit, have crashed by more than 50 per cent since the late 1960s.
It is thought that much of the decline is due to changes in the structure of our woodlands, such as the age and diversity of tree species, and long-term undermanagement. Measures which could be funded under the new scheme will include preserving dead trees to provide natural nest sites, coppicing, controlling grazing levels and creating glades and scrubby areas favoured by many species. Monitoring of the target bird species will take place to see what difference woodland management makes.
Underpinning the initiative is the Bird Conservation Targeting Project, an ambitious mapping project involving the Forestry Commission, RSPB, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Natural England which has identified breeding “hotspots” within the region for certain species. These locations will be used in determining grant eligibility and to target help where it is most likely to produce results.
Colin Grayson, from the Forestry Commission, said:
“Woodland birds are an evocative part of our wildlife and we must do all we can to tackle the chief factors behind such a worrying decline in numbers. These include the under-management of many of our woods in the North East. Historically, most woodlands, even small ones, were actively managed, creating plenty of niches and a range of habitats for birds to exploit. But these days too many rarely see significant human intervention, such as tree thinning, coppicing, or grazing. Using the new mapping data, we have a powerful tool to target habitat improvements to suit the needs of specific species. We are now urging land managers to work with us to secure the future of some of our most threatened birds.”
Several of the targeted species, including Redstart, Wood Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, Spotted Flycatcher and Woodcock, are associated with the North Pennine valleys, the A68/69 corridors and Northumberland National Park. Others such as the Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, Marsh Tit and Bullfinch are more widely distributed, while the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Hawfinch are scarce.
Martin Kerby, from the RSPB, said:
“The RSPB is looking forward to using the targeting project to provide practical help for declining woodland birds as it will tell us exactly what species to target in which locations. Management techniques such as creating glades in lowland woods can help restore habitats for declining species like bullfinch and lesser redpoll. Getting the right amount of grazing in upland woods can help charismatic species like wood warbler and pied flycatcher, trans-Saharan migrants that need just the right kind of woodland when they arrive back in the North East.”
The grants are being offered under the Forestry Commission’s English Woodland Grant Scheme, which is supported by European Union and Defra funding. Grant applications are now invited, which must be received by 28 February 2009 for payment in the next financial year. Funds are limited. To be eligible for a grant a woodland must be within a target area for the chosen species. The Bird Conservation Targeting Project data can be found at: www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/projects/targeting/
Grant guidance and application forms can be downloaded by navigating to the grants section at www.forestry.gov.uk/northeastengland
For further information contact the relevant Forestry Commission office:
Northumberland and Tyne Valley - 01669 621591
Durham and Teesside - 01388 488721
Media calls: Richard Darn on 01226 246351. Mobile: 07753 670038.
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