New financial incentive to create wild bird habitat

The Forestry Commission has announced a funding initiative to encourage west midlands land owners to create a habitat suited to ten of the regions most endangered birds.

Funding will be made available to grant money to land managers and owners who carry out wild bird-friendly practices such as leaving dead trees as nesting sites, coppicing - cutting young trees down to diversify the age of woodland - thinning and creating scrubland and glades.

Entitled the English Woodland Grant Scheme, the initiative has been designed to arrest the decline of woodland birds in the UK. Species such as the Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Tree Pipit, and Marsh Tit could benefit from the changes.

Bob Evans, of the Forestry Commission in the locality, said: "The West Midlands region is nationally important for woodland birds.

"If we can improve the habitat in these areas, together with other key locations in the area, it will significantly boost their fortunes."

The scheme is supported by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and part funded by the European Union and Defra.

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Associated Topics

Wildlife