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Welsh farms have significantly increased populations of farmland birds since growing seed-bearing cover crops and providing feeding stations containing supplementary seed.

A full-day symposium examining the conservation of Scotland’s four grouse species – red grouse, black grouse, capercaillie and ptarmigan – is taking place on 5 May 2023 at Balhousie Castle, Perth.

In the next fortnight, thousands of farmers and land managers across the UK will be taking half an hour out to observe and record the wild birds that share their land, as the tenth GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count gets under way.

2023 is the GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count’s tenth birthday. Ahead of this year’s count, its founder Jim Egan, is encouraging land managers to take part. 

Science-based conservation techniques for ground-nesting birds, hen harrier conflict resolution and the latest research into peatland management will be amongst the topics discussed at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Northern England Grouse Seminar on 28 February 2023 in Harrogate.

Described as a ‘globally rare’ habitat, the River Ebble flows for 12 miles through the farmland, villages and downland of the beautiful Chalke Valley before joining the River Avon near Salisbury. It is a precious habitat that the members of the Chalke Valley Farmer Cluster have put right at the heart of their conservation efforts. Now, a new short film celebrates their efforts to protect this vital artery.

2023 will be the tenth year of the GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count – the first UK-wide citizen science project to involve farmers in monitoring the state of farmland birds. Since 2014, more than 11,000 counts have been carried out by people working on the land.

New research has found that water crowfoot – an aquatic plant found commonly in lowland rivers – has multiple benefits for young Atlantic salmon, and that active management of the plant could be important for the conservation of this iconic and declining fish.

With many people considering game meat as a sustainable addition to their diet, a new range of prepared meals has been launched to make the process as easy as possible. 

A recent reintroduction of a threatened native species to the Lower Avon Valley on the Hampshire-Dorset border has provided a welcome boost to other species too, say scientists from the GWCT.