Saturday 14 February saw the launch of National Nest Box Week in England, and a Northamptonshire farmer is backing the message that birds are good news.
National Nest Box Week is an annual celebration organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) with the aim of raising awareness of the needs of the country's bird population, much of which makes its home on farmland.
The way farmers manage land has a crucial impact on the status of bird species in rural areas, Initiatives run by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) such as the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme, have made an important contribution to the recovery of a number of species in the East Midlands.
The schemes reward farmers for sensitive management techniques, funding measures to improve the nesting, breeding and feeding habitats for birds and contributing to the cost of providing nest boxes.
Mr Matthew Moser, a Northamptonshire farmer, is contributing to the effort. A pair of barn owls have successfully bred on his land at Newnham Hill near Daventry for the last two years in his four barn owl boxes producing 6 owlets, and he is keen to encourage more, with help from Defra.
With a contribution from Defra's Countryside Stewardship Scheme Mr Moser will be reverting arable land to grassland at Newnham Hill near Daventry to provide additional hunting grounds for the barn owls, which often mate for life. The rough grassland will encourage small mammals such as field voles, common shrews and wood mice, which are the barn owls main prey.
Mr Moser said:
"The funding I have received under Defra's Countryside Stewardship Scheme is going towards creating additional hunting grounds for barn owls. It's great to see them on the farm and it's good to know the work I plan to do will have a positive effect on their populations."
Nature Protection Minister Ben Bradshaw said:
"Nestboxes such as those at Newnham Hill play an important conservation role, by providing much needed nesting habitat for some farmland birds such as barn owls."
"The Government recognises that the status of the UK's farmland birds reflects both the natural balance of our countryside and the quality of our environment."
Emily Martindale from Defra's Rural Development Service in the East Midlands said:
"The stewardship scheme helps to create an environment for a number of wildlife. Mr Moser is extremely enthusiastic and has worked hard to create a rich wildlife habitat. His commitment to the Barn Owls is admirable and contributes to reversing their population decline."