The RSPB's unsung regular army of volunteer birdwatchers, who have walked the equivalent of 5½ times around the Earth since 1999, enjoyed novel sightings on farms in 2010. Their end-of-year tally includes common cranes in East Anglia, cirl buntings in the South-West and a corncrake in Scotland, plus a green parrot in the North, six ring ouzels, a Montagu's harrier and even an escaped turkey living wild. Most encouragingly, they saw swallows, which are amber-listed and not doing well in Continental Europe, on 95% of the 683 farms surveyed-Britain's predominantly open livestock pasture may be a favourable factor. The song thrush was the next most observed bird, on 79% of farms, and, pleasingly, the skylark came third (74%), good Two cirl buntings, one green parrot-and a turkey news for the farming world, which often shoulders the blame for the decline in such ground-nesting birds.
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Jenny Atkins, who manages the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance (V&FA), says: ‘It's excellent news, as the skylark is a species we are particularly concerned about. We have been working with farmers to reverse its decline, especially on arable land, where small plots of fallow ground within crops can make a huge difference.' The V&FA needs more recruits; telephone 01767 680551 or email v&fa@rspb.org.uk
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Can't you hear me S.O.S? Our treasured native dog breeds are at risk of extinctionDo you know your Kerry blue terrier from your Lancashire heeler? A simple lack of publicity is often to blame for some of the UK's native dog breeds flying dangerously low under-the-radar.
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'There are architects and architects, but only one ARCHITECT': Sir Edwin Lutyens and the wartime Chancellor who helped launch his stellar careerClive Aslet explores the relationship between Sir Edwin Lutyens and perhaps his most important private client, the politician and financier Reginald McKenna.
