Category Archives: Bracken clearance

2013 Trial scheme to help farmland birds through the winter months

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Conservation crop in field on Jersey's north coast. Photo by Cris SellaresBIRDS ON THE EDGE launches a trial scheme to help farmland birds through the winter months

By Cris Sellarés

In early 2013 a joint sponsorship granted funds for the purchase of bird-conservation crops to be planted by potato farmers for a trial scheme to provide many Jersey birds with a source of food throughout the coldest months of the year.

Introduction

Linnet. Photo by Mick DrydenHabitat restoration is at the core of BIRDS ON THE EDGE which is working to identify sites of high importance to birds and other wildlife in Jersey and to provide independent advice and support to funding applications that will increase the value to wildlife of these sites. Examples of wildlife-friendly management include hedge-planting and restoration, enhancement of boundaries, planting of insect and bird-conservation crops, bracken clearance and scrub management.

Aims of the trial scheme

  • To provide a source of winter food for farmland birds in the north coast from 2013, especially for skylarks, buntings, greenfinches, linnets and others;
  • To test the productivity of two similar bird-conservation crop mixes against a variety of field characteristics such as slope, aspect, geology and boundaries;
  • To test the responsiveness of local wildlife, especially bird species, to crop type and land characteristics;
  • To assess the results of the trial in accordance with verbal agreements between each participating farmer and the scheme;
  • To offer the farmers an economic stimulus to help them to opt for a wildlife-friendly management of their land.

Development

In February 2013, as part of the BIRDS ON THE EDGE management plan, 181 fields were surveyed north of the coast road between Sorel Point and Grève de Lecq.

Of these, 18 fields were found suitable to be tried with bird-conservation crops, through a combination of favourable characteristics such as: good boundaries in the form of hedges, main crop type, distance from the sea cliffs, slope, geology and vicinity to buildings, amongst others.

Survey area and location of suitable hedges for birds. States of Jersey mapThe Project Officer approached the owners and tenants of these fields to discuss the trial scheme and, over a series of meetings, learned about the management regime of the fields and each farmer’s preference for conservation crops. At the end of the discussions the final number of suitable fields was brought down to 15, representing a combined area of 55 vergées and 24 perches (10ha).

At the same time that the trial scheme was taking shape, a sponsorship opportunity arose in the form of two private donors. The combined donation has allowed the trial scheme to be launched, covering the cost of the bird-conservation crops that will be planted on the 15 chosen fields.

All the owners and tenants of the fields accepted to include them in the trial scheme, which will involve the farmers receiving the crop seeds free of charge and sowing them in the fields once the potatoes have been harvested. The progress of the crop and its utilisation by birds and other wildlife will be monitored throughout the year. All participating farmers further offered to look after the features most suitable for wildlife, in particular to leave the margins or headlands next to the best hedges unploughed.

Thanks to the generosity of the two sponsors the 10 new hectares of land in the trial will join the existing nine hectares of bird-conservation crops that the National Trust for Jersey has managed in the north coast since 2012, instantly doubling the area of land where birds can feed from. We hope that this will help them to survive the winter months and will boost the populations of those bird species locally endangered.

 

 

Bracken clearance above Grève de Lecq

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By Tim Liddiard

Bracken on north coast. Photo by National Trust for Jersey A further bracken clearance project involving 30+ vergees of land and including a site near Grève de Lecq has received support from the Countryside Enhancement Scheme (CES) as an integral component of the BIRDS ON THE EDGE project. This compliments work by the National Trust for Jersey further east and is consistent with probable recommended management actions that will be included in the National Park management plan. Maritime heath, cliff and slope are listed as valuable habitats In the Biodiversity Strategy for Jersey (2000).

Bracken clearance sites 2013. Department of the EnvironmentOn behalf of the public of Jersey, the Department of the Environment is responsible for the ecological management of the majority of the north coast from L’Etacq to Grève de Lecq, including Les Landes Site of Special Interest, the headland La Piece Michel and Plémont Headland. Habitat management contractor Aaron Le Couteur, the shepherd (see Grazing), is aware of the potential for introducing grazing to this new site and is involved in planned preparation of this land.

Method

Access to the chosen site is difficult due to the established agricultural land adjacent to the steep slopes. This, however, offers the alternative of tractor access and the use of specialised machinery owned by Aaron Le Couteur. Site visits have been made to identify suitable areas for management where, realistically, the dwarf shrub heath could be restored.

The landowners of fields adjacent to the site have been contacted and permissions have been granted to access the land with tractor mounted machinery. A flail, attached to a winch, will be used to cut the mix of bracken and bramble on the coastal slope in early June. After a period of a month to allow regrowth the newly emerged bracken heads will be rolled in July. The following year, in 2014 (dependent on 2014 CES applications), the area will be cut in June and the following month the fronds will be treated with Glyphosate using specialised equipment purchased by the contractor using CES granted funds in 2012. Using this methodology, it is believed that the success rate of the project will be maximised rather than using the herbicide application in Year 1.

Strict safety measures will be put into place to ensure that the work is carried out in compliance with best practice Health and Safety guidelines including provision of signs informing people that dogs will need to be under control. A strip of uncut bracken and bramble will be left on the lower slopes (closest to the cliff edge) to minimise the likelihood of the public getting too close.

The total budget for this clearance programme is based on £250 per vergee to prepare for herbicide treatment.

Planting hedges for Jersey’s birds

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Planting hedges at Le Don Hodges. Photo by Cris SellaresBy Cris Sellarés

As part of the BIRDS ON THE EDGE habitat restoration strategy the National Trust for Jersey is working to restore important bird habitats on the north coast between Mourier Valley and Sorel Point.

Whilst the flock of Manx Loaghtan sheep are busy opening patches through the bracken that is being cleared, and preventing it from coming back, further inland the conservation fields of Le Don Hodges are being enhanced by planting trees for hedges. These 14 fields, comprising a total of 50 vergees of land, were purchased by the National Trust for Jersey through a donation in 2012, and are being Linnet. Photo by Mick Drydenmanaged to enhance the local wildlife. An agreement was established with the Jersey Royal Company to allow for the utilisation of some of these fields for potato crops in exchange for a management regime more sensitive to wildlife and the planting of wildlife crops in the fields once the potatoes are harvested. Some of these fields are cultivated in rotation to create a mosaic of spring cereals and seed mixes, while others will never be cultivated and have been sown with wildflower mixes to create permanent, insect-rich grasslands. Many farmland birds rely on these crops as a source of food during the cold months of winter, when insects are less abundant or in hibernation. If it wasn’t for these crops many chaffinches, goldfinches, greenfinches and linnets would not make it through the winter.

Planting hedges at Le Don Hodges. Photo by Cris SellaresWith the permanent grassland and wildflower fields providing insects during spring and summer, and cereals and other seed-rich crops on the fields to provide the winter food, the hedges are the last piece of this puzzle. Hedges provide cover from predators near their feeding grounds, nesting opportunities, food for many insects that the birds will feed on, and buds and berries for the birds to feed on from spring to autumn.

Last year the NTJ was awarded funding to buy 8,000 trees for hedges, of which almost 5,000 have already been planted around the Le Don Hodges fields by participants of the Back to Work Scheme and teams of volunteers during weekend community events. It is hoped that the remaining trees will be planted over the next few weeks and that within the next few years they will grow into thick, luscious and berry-loaded hedges that will provide the birds with a safe breeding habitat.

Planting hedges at Le Don Hodges. Photo by Cris SellaresWith the last piece of the puzzle in place, let’s hope that the restored habitats can soon provide our threatened birds with all they need to survive and thrive throughout the year.

PS. If you would like to help with planting hedges sign up for the volunteer mailing list by e-mailing Cris Cris@nationaltrust.je

The Countryside Enhancement Scheme

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If anybody interested in BIRDS ON THE EDGE is a coastal landowner and is in a position to help achieve the project aims, there is potential financial aid available via the Countryside Enhancement Scheme (CES).

Coastal bracken clearance to encourage heathland regeneration. Photo by Department of EnvironmentThe CES is an environmental improvement scheme which offers financial incentives to support and reward initiatives designed to look after Jersey’s countryside.

The scheme is designed to assist in the delivery of environmental projects that:

  • help maintain and improve the Island’s unique and internationally significant rural character, landscape, habitats, flora and fauna;
  • enhance, conserve and protect Jersey’s natural environment on a local scale;
  • implement Island-wide strategic environmental projects that will enhance biodiversity;
  • assist with the delivery of the Island’s commitments to International Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and local environmental objectives.

Who can apply for funding?

The scheme is open to anyone responsible for the management of land including:
• farmers
• growers
• land managers
• landowners
• businesses
• charities
• societies
• schools
• States departments

Please look at the Countryside Enhancement Funding website.

Tim Liddiard