As there is a greater emphasis on biodiversity, farmers might not realise they’re already hosting some very special visitors.
Birdwatch Ireland estimates that more birds than ever are now red-listed in Ireland and some birds that were commonplace are now hard to spot.
Birds are an important indicator of the presence of biodiversity on land and help to signpost the natural health of an area and species-rich nature of farmland.
“Farmers have not been found wanting in responding to results-based agri-environment schemes, where results can be seen on the ground,” Oonagh Duggan of Birdwatch Ireland told a recent committee on climate action on Tuesday 18 May.
“They should be rewarded for those activities.
"There is great scope for increasing CAP funds in the strategic plan to help farmers not only to restore peatlands, but to undertake landscape scale restoration for biodiversity and that is about restoring habitats, as well as supporting or restoring semi-natural grasslands and wetlands all over the country.”
Kestrel
The kestrel nests in trees, buildings or in cracks in cliffs. / Birdwatch Ireland
Although the kestrel was once a common sight on Irish farms, there has been a decline in recent years.
“The kestrel has suffered a 28% decline in breeding population between 2006 and 2016,” BirdWatch Ireland has said.
It depends on areas of scrub on farmland, as it preys on small mammals such as mice.
Snipe
A snipe song includes a far-carrying "chipper, chipper…" often at night - sometimes delivered from a fence post, according to Birdwatch Ireland.
The snipe has a distinctive “chipper, chipper” far-carrying call, although during displays over nesting territories it can be known to make an eerie call that some have said is akin to goat bleating.
Unfortunately, they have seen a 50% decline over the last 25 years and it is now red-listed.
Curlew
Curlew in flight. \ Janice Mulligan
The sad decline of the curlew has been well documented, with the very real possibility that Ireland could be the first European country to lose the iconic breeding species.
The Curlew Conservation Programme is run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and landowners who think they might have curlew on their land are asked to get in touch at Agri.Ecology@chg.gov.ie
Corncrake
A corncrake in flight captured by Northcoast Nature. / Tom McDonnell
The distinctive cry of the corncrake was once a familiar sound across the Irish countryside, but numbers have plummeted over recent years.
It is a shy and secretive bird, with a preference for land where more traditional farm practices are in place, such as hay meadows.
Swallow
Biodiversity in Ireland.
While it might seem odd to add the swallow to the list, this little visitor is under threat, as its journey from Africa becomes longer and longer as the continued desertification and widening of the Sahara desert makes the small swallow’s journey even longer and more arduous.
The bird is a familiar friend to many farmers who support its nesting patterns in barns and sheds.
As there is a greater emphasis on biodiversity, farmers might not realise they’re already hosting some very special visitors.
Birdwatch Ireland estimates that more birds than ever are now red-listed in Ireland and some birds that were commonplace are now hard to spot.
Birds are an important indicator of the presence of biodiversity on land and help to signpost the natural health of an area and species-rich nature of farmland.
“Farmers have not been found wanting in responding to results-based agri-environment schemes, where results can be seen on the ground,” Oonagh Duggan of Birdwatch Ireland told a recent committee on climate action on Tuesday 18 May.
“They should be rewarded for those activities.
"There is great scope for increasing CAP funds in the strategic plan to help farmers not only to restore peatlands, but to undertake landscape scale restoration for biodiversity and that is about restoring habitats, as well as supporting or restoring semi-natural grasslands and wetlands all over the country.”
Kestrel
The kestrel nests in trees, buildings or in cracks in cliffs. / Birdwatch Ireland
Although the kestrel was once a common sight on Irish farms, there has been a decline in recent years.
“The kestrel has suffered a 28% decline in breeding population between 2006 and 2016,” BirdWatch Ireland has said.
It depends on areas of scrub on farmland, as it preys on small mammals such as mice.
Snipe
A snipe song includes a far-carrying "chipper, chipper…" often at night - sometimes delivered from a fence post, according to Birdwatch Ireland.
The snipe has a distinctive “chipper, chipper” far-carrying call, although during displays over nesting territories it can be known to make an eerie call that some have said is akin to goat bleating.
Unfortunately, they have seen a 50% decline over the last 25 years and it is now red-listed.
Curlew
Curlew in flight. \ Janice Mulligan
The sad decline of the curlew has been well documented, with the very real possibility that Ireland could be the first European country to lose the iconic breeding species.
The Curlew Conservation Programme is run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and landowners who think they might have curlew on their land are asked to get in touch at Agri.Ecology@chg.gov.ie
Corncrake
A corncrake in flight captured by Northcoast Nature. / Tom McDonnell
The distinctive cry of the corncrake was once a familiar sound across the Irish countryside, but numbers have plummeted over recent years.
It is a shy and secretive bird, with a preference for land where more traditional farm practices are in place, such as hay meadows.
Swallow
Biodiversity in Ireland.
While it might seem odd to add the swallow to the list, this little visitor is under threat, as its journey from Africa becomes longer and longer as the continued desertification and widening of the Sahara desert makes the small swallow’s journey even longer and more arduous.
The bird is a familiar friend to many farmers who support its nesting patterns in barns and sheds.
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