Chalk Country

Your regional stone-curlew project newsletter

Issue no 09 Winter 2016/2017

In this extended issue: • Protecting important arable plants

• Stone-curlew workshop

• New Adviser

• Call of the curlew conference

• End of LIFE+ project results

• Reducing the intensity of monitoring

• Wiltshire reserves update

• Stone-curlew ecology

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2016 was the beginning of a transition to less intensive monitoring and more sustainable management for stone-curlews in Wessex.

Our four-year LIFE+ grant has helped us to plan for this transition, but the loss of one field officer post in conjunction with staff illness meant that we had to reduce monitoring in one or two areas in 2016. As such, the stone-curlew population we recorded was lower than in previous years. In other areas, where intensive monitoring continued, the population remained stable, and the overall productivity across Wessex was 0.66 chicks per pair – above that needed for a stable population. This is encouraging given the challenges of field work in the 2016 season. Not only was the team reduced in number, but we had to contend with warm and wet conditions, which encourages rapid vegetation growth. This reduces the availability of suitable open habitat, makes it more difficult to monitor the birds and advise farmers on how and when to manage the plots, and makes it harder for management to take place! So to record such a productive season is very promising. Reducing our intensive monitoring in more areas is the shape of things to come from now on. Wiltshire Council has contracted the RSPB to continue intensive monitoring around Salisbury Plain SPA and a 5 km buffer zone (related to assessing the impact of increased recreational disturbance arising from housing around the Plain), so in this area management and monitoring will remain the same. Outside of that area we will still be available by phone for advice, and will be carrying out interventions to protect nests and chicks where

Time for change

necessary, but we will no longer be able to proactively monitor plots and cropped fields. Stone-curlew conservation will be increasingly reliant on farmers and landowners reporting sightings of birds so that we can work together to ensure farming operations do not inadvertently destroy nests or chicks. To help with this process we have developed a more sustainable approach to plot management, which simplifies the process for anyone who will not have proactive monitoring on their holding. Our trials indicated that there was significant variation in the preparation of these plots, suggesting that it is very difficult to guarantee the correct conditions because of different factors such as soil type, machinery and timing of management. Therefore we are now suggesting whole plot management, with half the plot then sprayed, not cultivated, during May. This reduces the risk to eggs and chicks and also should leave cover for chicks, while providing bare ground for any further nesting attempts.

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How Wessex farmers can help stone-curlews: 1. Contact us whenever you need to carry out mechanical operations on areas where you know there are stone-curlews. Contact us even if you find a bird during the work, as we may be able to come immediately to assist. 2. Follow plot management guidelines, including any in-season advice we give you. The guidelines have now been circulated, based on the most up to date research available. 3. Consult us on any potential plot creations or re-locations. Getting the plots in the right place is critical for them to be successful. By working together and following these three steps farmers will continue to lead the way for stone-curlew conservation.

For more information contact Nick Tomalin, Wessex Farmland Projects Manager on 07702 392201 or nick.tomalin@rspb.org.uk Ia

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Stone-curlews might call and circle when disturbed from a nest, but more often creep away to conceal the presence of camouflaged chicks or eggs.

It has been a good year for stone-curlews on the Winterbourne Downs reserve with a pre-migration roost of 16 birds observed.

Nick Adams carried out the 5 yearly Common Bird Census (CBC) and confirmed a consolidation of at least five pairs of stone-curlews nesting on the reserve every year since 2011. In 2016, one of those pairs remained at Winterbourne Downs with a chick well into October. The CBC identified a total of 759 territories of 52 species, including nine red-listed and nine amber-listed. This is an increase of 70 territories and five species on the CBC survey of 2011.

Making hay while the sun shines

The Viridor Credits ‘Restoring Wiltshire’s Historic Chalk Grassland Landscape’ project has seen the reversion of three barley fields using wildflower seeds harvested from Salisbury Plain, creating 26 ha of new flower-filled chalk grassland. After the last cereal harvest took place in August, Farm Manager Brian Eley mixed seed from existing grassland at the reserve with seed brush-harvested from the Plain. The area of arable reversion at Winterbourne Downs has now reached 180 ha, with a further 22ha of grassland enhanced using the ‘green hay’ technique. This has enabled the RSPB to achieve a major milestone in the development of the reserve with the last of the cereal fields being converted to grassland and the target of over 200 ha of flower-rich calcareous grassland creation in progress. Furthermore, the project has provided funding towards 3,410m of new fencing around the new chalk grasslands so that they can be grazed by sheep and cattle.

The floristic enhancements of the grasslands under the HLF “Save Our Magnificent Meadows” project continued into the autumn with volunteers joining us on events in November to sow seed of missing chalk indicator wildflowers around the reserve, and plant over 600 wildflower plugs, including hairy violet, wild thyme, dropwort and saw-wort in the meadow beside the visitor car park. In December our wonderful volunteers joined Nicky for a nest box maintenance and building event, and several scrub clearance and coppicing work parties to make clearings and coppice coupes in the New Woodland plantation. We created a new 0.5 ha wader scrape by removing 50cm of topsoil over half a hectare in the centre of the reserve. This has resulted in a bone dry chalk scrape for nesting stone-curlew and lapwing viewable from the nature trail a short distance across the valley. The hope is that this bespoke habitat feature will provide a low cost and easy to maintain nesting habitat for stone-curlew and ideal conditions for chalk-loving wildflowers and insects to thrive.

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New dew ponds

We’ve created two dewponds amongst the dry grassland. The ponds are a fabulous addition to the mix of habitats on the reserve, and it is hoped that they will provide better conditions for turtle doves and great crested newts, and possibly even tempt tree sparrows to make Winterbourne Downs their home. The excavated chalk has been landscaped into a new south-facing butterfly bank, with a small inland cliff between it and the pond, designed to provide ideal habitat for mining bees

For more information contact Patrick Cashman, Site Manager Wiltshire Reserves on 01980 629845 or patrick.cashman@rspb.org.uk

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Visitors are treated to a closer look at Winterbourne Downs’ chalk grassland flowers and insects with Nicky Quinn, Reserve Warden

Understanding stone-curlew ecology Understanding the stone-curlew’s ecological requirements is essential to be able to conserve them. Here’s a quick refresher course in stone-curlew ecology... The stone-curlew is a medium-sized wader with large yellow eyes and yellow legs. They are migratory birds, and return to the UK from their wintering sites in southern Europe and northern Africa around mid-March. They nest on open, bare ground with a little vegetation. They are site-faithful, returning to the same area every year to breed. Most young birds will return to within 15km of their natal site. Also known as the goggle-eyed plover, it is a crepuscular species, meaning that it is most active at dawn and dusk. Stone-curlews feed on a variety of insects and other invertebrates, many of which they find in the grass buffers which surround some stone-curlew plots. They may also use the vegetated half of a plot to forage.

Stone-curlews can conceal themselves very well, and will only take flight if absolutely necessary. If you are approaching a plot with a resident pair, it is likely that they will spot you from some distance away. If they are on eggs, they will both walk away so as not to draw attention to the nest site. For this reason, it shouldn’t be assumed that stone-curlews are not in the area if they are not seen instantly. Such disturbance should obviously be avoided unless absolutely necessary (eg. to save nests from agricultural operations) as it exposes eggs and chicks to risk of chilling and predation. The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground, sometimes lined with small stones or rabbit droppings.

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One or two eggs are laid. Chicks normally leave the nest soon after hatching, though can stand and walk properly only on the second day. They are double-brooded- will aim to fledge two lots of young. As such, the breeding season can be long, and birds may still be laying in August, with chicks still present in September. After the chicks hatch, they rely on camouflage to avoid predators, and will remain completely motionless in order to stay hidden. If you see adult birds circling overhead whilst you are out near a nest site, listen out for ‘chick wailing’ – a distinctive call that adult stone-curlews make when they have been disturbed from an area in which they have young.

When faced with approaching farm machinery, stone-curlew chicks will lie totally still, this makes them vulnerable to agricultural operations.

Courtship behaviour

It is sometimes possible to deduce whether a pair has eggs or chicks from observing their behaviours. Pairs performing any of these courtship displays are unlikely to have nested yet:

A male walking with legs fully extended whilst its head is held at the same level as its body and tail cocked (the male may walk in this fashion towards the female whilst she performs a similar routine)

A male bringing food to the female

Neck-arching (although this does not necessarily indicate a pair without eggs)

A male leading the female to the scrape and sitting in it with his tail up. The male may also dig in with his feet. If the female is interested, she may follow suit

Flicking stones or rabbit droppings in and out of the scrape. Females do not usually do this until just before laying, so if you see both members of the pair doing this, there is a good chance the nest will be at this location

Masters of camouflage and stealth

For more information contact the Wessex stone-curlew team by emailing wessexstonecurlew@rspb.org.uk

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Technology helps rare arable flowers

A new mobile app aims to help farmers, agronomists and conservationists to identify and record the UK’s most threatened plant species.

The Rare Arable Flowers app also provides practical advice on the best way to manage land for these species. The new app contains detailed descriptions for more than 120 rare arable flower species, each with photos and illustrations, distribution maps and advice on their conservation.

It has been produced by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology’s mobile apps development team in collaboration with Plantlife, Natural England and the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI). Prof Richard Pywell, head of Sustainable Land Management at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology said “Arable

wildflowers have an important ecological role. They provide valuable food resources for farmland birds and other animals, including beneficial insects responsible for crop pollination and natural pest control. We hope that the app will help farmers and agronomists to identify rare arable wildflowers on their land. It will also provide them with information on how to manage land for these species under the agri-environment schemes.” Cath Shellswell, Farmland Adviser at Plantlife said, “There is an urgent need for action to help conserve our rare arable flowers. This new app will support farmers to ID plants and gather up to date information on the whereabouts and status of the arable flowers on their land.” “We have practical experience of working with arable farmers who have been keen to retain the wildlife on their farms

and will make an important contribution to restoring 'colour in the margins' of their arable fields.” Although aimed at farmers and agronomists, the app can also be used by conservationists and interested members of the public. Dr Markus Wagner, Plant Ecologist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology said “The Biological Records Centre at CEH maps and analyses distributions of species, identifies important sites and monitors general trends in abundance. Finding out the locations of the remaining populations of threatened arable wildflowers is the first step in ensuring sympathetic management of sites for these species, and contributing to their continued existence. This task relies strongly on the input from farmers and volunteer recorders reporting where they have found rare arable species." Karolis Kazlauskis, Mobile Apps Developer at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said “We hope the new app makes it much easier to record rare arable flowers. All submitted records will be reviewed and verified by an expert before being added to the national database of biological recording data.”

For more information contact Cath Shellswell, Farmland Advisor at Plantlife on 07946 175445 or cath.shellswell@plantlife.org.uk Red hemp-nettle at Tidgrove Warren

The app is freely available to download to Apple and Android devices

Tony Mundell, BSBI North Hampshire Recorder, explains the significance of finding this rare arable plant on a stone-curlew plot in Hampshire “It was Keith Betton, the Hampshire Bird Recorder, who tipped me off that it would be worth checking the wildflowers at Raleigh Place’s organic farm at Tidgrove Warren. I soon managed to get permission from Raleigh to do a botanical survey there. Another botanist Sarah Ball joined me on the 7th July, and we were soon delighted to find many uncommon arable wildflowers, including Venus’s looking-glass, Dwarf Spurge (Nationally Vulnerable), Prickly Poppy

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(Nationally Endangered), Grey Field Speedwell, Small Toadflax and Dense-flowered Fumitory. However, best of all was what I thought was almost certainly Red Hemp-nettle, Galeopsis angustifolia. This plant is now classified as Nationally Critically Endangered, so it really needed confirmation when in flower. Sarah Ball and Sarah White visited on 22nd August and they found numerous plants of Red Hemp-nettle in full flower, scattered in groups of up to 20 across one particular field. This species was once widespread in Hampshire, with records on my database from 78 sites, but since 2000 it has only been found at 18 Hampshire sites.”

Call of the curlew Key groups of farmers conservationists and planners recently came together at WWT Slimbridge to find ways to protect one of our most-loved and most threatened wader species Around 85 people gathered in Gloucestershire in February to discuss the future of the curlew, whose disappearance from the British countryside had gone largely unnoticed until relatively recently. Both the breeding and wintering populations of curlew are declining at an alarming rate throughout the British Isles, and the species has recently been added to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, having already vanished as a breeding bird from large parts of the lowlands. The UK’s population has almost halved since the mid-1990s and the curlew’s breeding range has shrunk by about 17% in recent years. In Ireland, the species has declined by 97% since the 1980s. Changes in farming practices, predation and human disturbance are the most commonly highlighted factors contributing to this decline. Sarah Sanders, who heads the RSPB’s Curlew Recovery Programme, said: “The curlew is in a critical situation... it really is one of our most urgent and serious conservation priorities in the UK at the moment.” The ‘Call of the Curlew Conference’ provided a platform for conservationists, planners, land-owners and farmers to start to identify practical ways to conserve and extend the range of this widely-loved species. Mary Colwell, a writer and producer who has recently completed a 500 mile walk to raise

awareness of the plight of the curlew said: “We will after today come up with really good solutions about what we can do about curlew populations in southern England.” Several viable breeding populations of curlew still exist in southern England, including one on Salisbury Plain. The event highlighted the importance of these areas as critical to maintaining the curlew’s current range. Additionally, due to the dispersed nature of these breeding populations, wide-ranging landscape-scale solutions would likely be the best option for conservation - not just those limited to nature reserves. There was unanimous agreement for urgent action to conserve breeding curlew in southern England, with a view to avoiding the huge population crash experienced in Ireland. It was also agreed that emphasis should be placed on increased scientific research. It is clear that if we are to preserve this iconic species with which we have such strong local and cultural connections, then existing

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study, monitoring and protection efforts must be continued and strengthened in areas where curlews still breed. By conserving the region’s flower-rich hay meadows, and the many invertebrates that these support, we can also help to conserve important curlew sites.

Whilst the issues raised by the conference were often bleak, the enthusiasm for conservation action from those present is encouraging. There is still time to reverse the declines observed in curlew populations in southern England, and this can be achieved through a continued building of public awareness and cooperation between key conservation groups.

If you would like to know more about how you can help curlews in your area, contact Phil Sheldrake, Conservation Officer for Wiltshire and Gloucestershire on 07753 776303 or by emailing philip.sheldrake@rspb.org.uk

The gathering aimed to find solutions to the decline of the curlew

Stone-curlew workshop

New adviser Rob Blackler joins the Stone-curlew Team I have joined the Wessex Stone-curlew Recovery Project, having worked with them closely in recent years on other farmland bird related projects in Wiltshire. Previously, I worked as a Research Assistant with the RSPB’s Conservation Science Team, helping determine the success of the Farmland Bird Package agri-environment scheme. Before this, I worked with various ecological consultancies as a Field Surveyor, and contributed to a breeding bird survey of Salisbury Plain in 2015. Growing up in Wiltshire has allowed me to employ a local knowledge of the region’s species and habitats to all of my recent roles in conservation. My position as Project Officer on the Stone-curlew Team is mainly an advisory one. Currently, my main focus is helping with plot management and offering advice to those considering how to best manage their land for wildlife. I am

The annual Wessex stone-curlew workshop is a success (despite the poor weather!) A collection of farmers, conservationists and advisors came together in Newton Tony in February 2017 to discuss the project’s latest plot management guidelines. The afternoon was designed to encourage an open discussion regarding plot management, offering farmers and conservationists alike a chance to raise concerns and share ideas. The event was also a good opportunity to refresh people’s memories with a brief overview of the stone-curlew’s ecological requirements, as this was an area that many felt was specifically worth covering. After a series of short talks from Nick Tomalin and our new advisor- Rob Blackler, the group headed out into the rain to see the stone-curlew plots at RSPB Winterbourne Downs. The plots looked fantastic despite the best

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also on hand to provide advice on Countryside Stewardship schemes. During the summer months, I will mostly be out in the field with the rest of the team, contributing to the monitoring effort and ringing chicks where appropriate. Recently I have been visiting farmers and landowners across Wessex to update them on our latest plot management guidelines, and to answer any queries they might have concerning the timing or method of preparation. It won’t be long until stone-curlews arrive back in the UK, and with spring fast approaching, I’ll soon be heading out to check plots in anticipation of the first birds returning in mid-March. If you’d like to arrange a farm visit, or would simply like to know more about my role within the Project, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

For more information please contact me on 07834 792 856 or robert.blackler@rspb.org.uk

efforts of the weather. Brian Eley, Farm Manager, talked the group through preparation techniques, weed management and the best equipment to use. On the way back to the village hall, our reserve manager Patrick Cashman explained the significance of the new dew pond and also offered advice to anyone considering constructing a butterfly bank on their holding. The day concluded with a much needed hot drink and cake,

followed by a quick Q&A session. Hugh Morrison, a farmer from Amesbury said: “I found it helpful, and it was good to get together with like-minded farmers”. Thanks to all who attended the workshop, including the RSPB staff who helped make the day a success. For those who were unable to attend, the key areas covered by the event can be found in the January email, which contains everything you need to know on plot management.

The group discussing plot management before warming up indoors

Working together to give nature a home

The RSPB is the country’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home.

The RSPB is a member of BirdLife International, a partnership of conservation organisations working to give nature a home around the world.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England & Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

LIFE+ is the EU’s financial instrument supporting nature conservation, environmental, and similar communication projects throughout the EU, which contribute to implementing the Birds and Habitats Directives, and Natura 2000 network of protected sites.

End of project results

And finally.... we’d like to inform you that the RSPB Wessex team are now using a new project email address:

wessexstonecurlew@rspb.org.uk

You can still contact individual staff, but more general stone-curlew enquires should be sent to this new address

The national Stone-curlew LIFE+ project was extended to 31st March 2017, and final results are now in.

An international conference is being held at the David Attenborough Building on 28 Feb - 1 March to share lessons from this and other species recovery projects around the world. A booklet to highlight the various ways in which individuals have contributed to securing stone-curlew recovery has also been published on the project webpage: rspb.org.uk/securingthestonecurlew

Sharing Experience

300

fallow plots

(150 in each region)

Over

3000ha semi-natural grassland in restoration

26 Volunteer fieldworkers

(12 in Wessex)

Over

4000 200 events

Over a million people also heard about stone-curlews and nature friendly farmers through television and radio interviews

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Despite the poor weather for stone-curlews, the gap between stewardship schemes and some plots not being suitable for renewal, the number of birds nesting on safe habitat has increased as has productivity on plots.

The future of stone-curlews now looks more secure, thanks to the involvement of farmers, and volunteers in giving stone-curlews a home where they live. Support for nature friendly farmers through stewardship schemes and community support is essential to ensure that there is enough safe nesting habitat for them in the future.