Gardeners Can Help British Birds

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Tuesday, 01 June 2004

The British household garden is playing a much bigger role in the conservation of wild bird species than was thought. A study by the British Trust for Ornithology says gardeners can make a difference by making space for birds.

The report has said wildlife friendly gardening is important for the future of threatened species like the song thrush and spotted flycatchers.

Also, a study by the Game Conservancy Trust has said that the endangered grey partridge population has risen. In 1911 it was estimated that there were a million pairs of breeding grey partridges, but by the early 1990s weed killers and modern crop methods had taken their toll. About 145,000 pairs were left and monitoring has suggested that numbers have halved in the last decade.

The trust says the grey partridge has managed to boost its population numbers because of careful management of the birds' habitat. A project in Hertfordshire has shown that leaving wild edges to intensively cultivated fields, and creating patches where the birds can forage, have been a significant help.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk. For full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3762851.stm