Breeding bird survey of the Cotswold Hills ESA and Exmoor ESA
Published source details DEFRA . (2002) Breeding bird survey of the Cotswold Hills ESA and Exmoor ESA. DEFRA (RSPB) report, project ref. MA01006.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
| Action | Category | |
|---|---|---|
Maintain species-rich, semi-natural grassland Action Link |  | |
Maintain species-rich, semi-natural grassland Action Link |  |
Maintain species-rich, semi-natural grassland
A before and after trial in England (Defra 2002) concluded that management prescriptions in the Exmoor Environmentally Sensitive Area are maintaining the condition of unimproved grassland, based on trends in bird populations in parts of the Environmentally Sensitive Areas under long term management agreements. The study found that five red/amber-listed species of conservation concern (linnet Carduelis cannabina, bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula, grey partridge Perdix perdix, house sparrow Passer domesticus and garden warbler Sylvia borin) appeared to be increasing in density within the Cotswolds Environmentally Sensitive Areas while declining nationally, suggesting that they benefit from some aspect of Environmentally Sensitive Areas management. In each Environmentally Sensitive Areas, breeding birds were surveyed in May-August 2002, and results were compared with baseline survey information from 1992/3 (Exmoor) and 1997 (Cotswolds). In the Cotswolds Environmentally Sensitive Area, birds were surveyed in 96 randomly-selected 1 km squares, while the majority (153km2) of the Exmoor Environmentally Sensitive Area was surveyed.
Maintain species-rich, semi-natural grassland
A before-and-after trial in England (Defra 2002) concluded that management prescriptions in the Exmoor Environmentally Sensitive Area are maintaining the condition of unimproved grassland, based on trends in bird populations in parts of the Environmentally Sensitive Area under long-term management agreements. The same study found that five red/amber-listed species of conservation concern (Eurasian linnet Carduelis cannabina, Eurasian bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula, grey partridge Perdix perdix, house sparrow Passer domesticus and garden warbler Sylvia borin) appeared to be increasing in density within the Cotswolds Environmentally Sensitive Area while declining nationally, suggesting that they benefit from some aspect of Environmentally Sensitive Area management. In each Environmentally Sensitive Area, breeding birds were surveyed in May-August 2002, and results were compared with baseline survey information from 1992 to 1993 (Exmoor) and 1997 (Cotswolds). In the Cotswolds Environmentally Sensitive Area, birds were surveyed in 96 randomly-selected 1 km squares, while the majority (153 km2) of the Exmoor Environmentally Sensitive Area was surveyed.
