At the beginning of March we got together with our Ground Nest Fest collaborators at Lawkland Hall Farm, to offer a free day of training for farmers wanting to know more about supporting wading birds on their farms. 

13 people, representing 7 farms from across the region, came to Eldroth, North Yorkshire on a beautiful spring morning for a day packed with learning and sharing. First up, Brian Lavelle from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Wheldrake Ings Reserve led a session in the village hall - focussing on managing meadows and pasture with waders in mind, including how to access grant schemes and payment options. 

Then after a hearty lunch provided by Home Barn Foods, we headed across the fields to the farm, guided by tenant farmers Pete and Rona Webster. For the past five years they’ve been working with the RSPB to manage their 172 hectare working dairy farm in wader-friendly ways, and the evidence is tangible – as we approached the bird hide (installed with a Farming in Protected Landscapes, or FiPL, grant from the Forest of Bowland National Landscape) we were treated to the sight of dozens of curlew and lapwing overhead, and later a hen harrier quartering the site.

The farm has maximised an already damp, low lying area by removing historic drains, re-wetting and creating scrapes – again, funded through FiPL. This has created a wetland haven for wading birds returning to their breeding grounds at the end of the winter, as well as providing quality habitat for breeding birds throughout the season.  It’s a great demonstration of how commercial farming can happily sit alongside nature, and the perfect place to inspire other land managers wanting to explore wildlife-friendly interventions on their own farms.

The day was also supported by Philip Miller and Frank Osterberg, RSPB Conservation Advisors for the Forest of Bowland, who shared their extensive birding expertise, and also demonstrated a curlew nest fence installation. Although not a perfect solution, nest fencing are proven to deter larger predators such as foxes, as well as protect nests in pasture from livestock. They have to be installed quickly to minimise disturbance, and it was most impressive to see it in place in under 20 minutes. 

This was a really wonderful day of learning, inspiration and making connections – all key values and aims of Ground Nest Fest, as we continue to build our community around caring for these special birds in our landscape. We hope to run more events of this kind in the future.