THIRTY-seven farmers across Wales took part in the fifth annual Big Farmland Bird Count (BFBC) organised by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, and sponsored by the sustainable chemistry company BASF in February.

The count, which is held across the UK, recorded 89 different birds across 17,591 acres - the most commonly seen species in Wales was the blackbird, followed by blue tit, robin, carrion crow and great tit.

A total of 19 red-listed species were spotted across Wales.

GWCT Cymru director Sue Evans said: “We have enough examples of successful initiatives to be optimistic for the future, but if we are going to halt the decline of many farmland bird species, farmers need to demonstrate to the Welsh Government that they are more than capable of doing so.

“We need to demonstrate more effectively than ever what farmers are achieving and this BFBC initiative is a positive way to observe what is happening with farmland birds and help direct future policy post Brexit so that the number grows.”

The BFBC was launched in 2014 to highlight the positive work done by farmers and gamekeepers helping to reverse the decline of farmland birds.

The count records the affect of current conservation work by farmers and gamekeepers on their land such as supplementary feeding birds through the winter or by growing crops specifically to provide seed for birds.

A variety of farms took part in the count including beef farms, sheep farms, dairy farms, horticulture units, poultry producers and pig producers.

The survey areas included features such as hedges, woodland ponds, grass margins, ditches and trees.

The GWCT has identified how to bring bird numbers back onto productive farmland through the renowned Allerton project farm in Loddington, Leicestershire.

The number of birds present there has been doubled by adapting a management system originally developed for gamebirds

The GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count is delivered in partnership with Farming Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) Association and Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) with support from the National Farmers Union and CLA.