CLM20-2 full issue-1 - Flipbook - Page 18
Measuring conservation success on farmland
results from RLR surveys are fed into a reporting
system, which helps communities, land managers
Redlist Revival (RLR) manages the Life Map,
and landholders measure their performance
which has been created as a method for
relative to peers. Over 230,000ha (approaching
connecting knowledge, engagement and activity
2% of the area of England) have been registered
to sustain life. The map enables landholders
by landowners with RLR, all of whom have
and the people that support them to identify
received information on bird species’ range
key priority species that, through management
and abundance for their area, along with other
of land, they are able to influence and, where
measures of environmental quality, as part of the
they wish, to measure their performance against
Life Map initiative (see box on the left).
national standards. The landholders receive
RLR surveys have been conducted by the CRT
private formal recognition of their achievements
and access to knowledge exchange, while other
annually since 2015 on both the ’98 Land and
stakeholders learn of examples of successful
Westfield holdings of Lark Rise Farm. Results
conservation management. The Life Map uses
are constantly impressive, though considerable
10km × 10km grid squares to present data
variation occurs in numbers of birds encountered
in an accessible, understandable and usable
and it should be remembered that the surveys
format, to improve our understanding of wildlife
are simple snapshots of two days in spring. In
and the components that sustain life on land,
some years, spring comes late and species such
aligned to the UN Sustainable Development
as yellowhammer and corn bunting can still be
Goals. Some counties now have more than
present in sizeable flocks – the presence of which
10% of their area registered with the Life Map.
can make the difference between an exceptional
Any practitioners who wish to register interest
or an average performance indicator.
or access the benchmarking process should
e-mail RLR (edward.darling@redlistrevival.org)
The most recent data (for 2021) show that the
or visit http://redlistrevival.org/tlc-registrationtwo areas held six (’98 Land) or seven (Westfield)
form. Registration and participation is free, and
of the ten Red List Farmland Bird Index species.
the aim is to engage as many communities as
These counts place these plots in the top 10%
possible.
and 1% performance level, respectively, for range
of species, when compared with the baseline
provided by the c. 3,000 squares surveyed as
sample their land in the same way as the BBS
part of the BBS. The only absentees at both sites
survey, assuming a suitably sized block of land is
were yellow wagtail (regularly recorded but often
available. Using exactly the same methodology
missed on the survey routes), tree sparrow (now
each time and everywhere means that numbers
only a very rare winter visitor to this part of
counted on these RLR surveys can be directly
Cambridgeshire) and turtle dove (a very rare sight
compared with the data held by the BTO from
in the area). Corn bunting was absent from the
the 3,000 or so squares sampled by the BBS. The
’98 Land but was recorded at
Table 1. Performances for Red List Farmland Bird Index species on
Westfield; this species did occur
Lark Rise Farm compared with the baseline provided from 3,000+
randomly-selected 1km squares from the Breeding Bird Survey.
at both holdings in 2021, just
not consistently enough on the
Species
’98 Land
Westfield
’98 Land to be logged on the
Corn bunting
Absent
Top 10%
two RLR visits.
Grey partridge
Top 1%
Top 1%
The Life Map
Lapwing
Top 10%
Top 10%
Linnet
Top 10%
Top 1%
Skylark
Top 1%
Top 10%
Starling
Top 50%
Top 50%
Tree sparrow
Absent
Absent
Turtle dove
Absent
Absent
Yellow wagtail
Absent
Absent
Yellowhammer
Top 1%
Top 1%
Priority species range
Top 10%
Top 1%
16 Conservation Land Management Summer 2022 | Vol. 20 No. 2
Using species data
Walking around Lark Rise
Farm on a fine spring morning,
it soon becomes apparent to
anyone familiar with farmland
birds in England that numbers
and variety here are above
average. Having these numbers
