To start the year off on the right foot, we have put together a list of things you might find interesting or useful to do this month:
Get ready for the Big Farmland Bird Count
Staring on 5 February, the Big Farmland Bird Count is the perfect covid-secure activity for anyone based on a farm. Simply spend half an hour enjoying the nature around you and recording which birds you see. If you need to brush up on your bird ID skills, check out our handy guide and a series of farmland bird profiles. Find out more and sign up at www.bfbc.org.uk/take-part.
Stay up to date with the latest news
Get the latest news delivered at 9am every weekday morning by signing up for our Morning Briefing. You’ll to receive daily email alerts containing all the latest conservation and fieldsports news from a wide range of sources.
Described by one member as “a superb and simple way of keeping informed on highly relevant issues”, each morning we scour the internet, newspapers and social media for the latest stories and opinion pieces that may have a direct impact on the GWCT and its members. We then compile them in an easy-to-read email and send them to our readers at 9am. Sign up here for free.
Catch up on your reading – for free
With people encouraged to stay at home, there is no better time to read some of our recent publications, including:
- Community Spirit – our new report in what gameshooting means for Welsh people and the countryside.
- The latest Gamewise magazine – including articles on gamebird releasing, our Scottish demonstration farm and a keeping fieldwork doing in tough circumstances.
- Our latest annual Review – covering all our research in 2019.
- The Knowledge – Described by Patrick Galbraith, editor of Shooting Times as “an indispensable read for anyone involved in shooting today.”
Update your Gift Aid
By ticking a box, you could help earn the GWCT hundreds of pounds at a difficult time. As a registered charity, we can reclaim the tax on your membership subscriptions and donations if you pay UK Income or Capital Gains Tax, all we need from you is to complete this form.
We can claim back the tax on any subscription or donation you have given us in the past six years. For the average GWCT member, that’s over £100. If every GWCT member who pays tax were to make a Gift Aid declaration, we would be able to do so much more to support good countryside management. Even if you’ve filled a form in before, completing it again helps us to keep our records up to date.
Start thinking about overwinter feeding
With the weather getting colder, , farmland birds will be in need of all the help they can get. Getting birds through the ‘hungry gap’ and into good condition for the breeding season gives them the best opportunity to successfully raise their young and provide a platform for farmland bird numbers to grow.
You can read more about how best to undertake winter feeding here.