Here at Overbury Enterprises we have taken part for the last few years and this year 20 members of staff got involved. Farmers, gamekeepers and foresters were joined by office workers and gardeners.
Friday 3rd February turned out to be a beautifully sunny morning and very clear. Each individual or team took up their positions and marked off on the GWCT bird count sheet what they saw.
We submitted our results to the GWCT website early the following week so our numbers could be combined with all the others across the UK who took part. It is great to be able to play a small part in such valuable research into bird species and numbers.
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Click here to see the overall results.
Farmer Jake and the team actively encourage birds to Overbury Farmland by planting around 25 hectares (equivalent to about 37 football pitches) of wild bird seed mixes containing barley, radish, rape, mustard, quinoa, sunflower seeds, triticale and oats to create cover strips and game cover. It is very important because this provides food during the ‘hungry gap’ when hedgerow berries have been eaten and there is limited natural supply. We welcome walkers on beautiful Bredon Hill but ask that dogs are kept on leads at all times. This is because we do not want the ground nesting birds disturbed or harmed. Spring is a crucial time for birds setting up territories, making nests and rearing young. To find out how the RSPB suggest we can protect ground nesting birds click here.