Cirl Buntings – ecological success story
Ecologist Katharine Lowrie writes about the return of the lovely cirl bunting to the South West in her guest blog from July 2020.
The cirl bunting has become a South West England celebrity and a cause for celebration. Why? Because, unfortunately, every so often it takes nearly losing something to realise just how amazing and precious it is. This sparrow-sized bird, with a song that recalls the rattle of a grasshopper isn’t flashy, feisty or phenomenal but is an important indicator of biological diversity and the overall health of wildlife populations.
Cirl buntings once lived across the UK from Yorkshire to Cornwall. Known as the ‘Village Bunting’, they pecked spilt grain and hay seeds in farmyards. Then everything changed. The European Community’s campaign to produce higher yields and intensify farming saw flower-rich meadows cultivated, hedgerows and orchards disappear. Cirl bunting populations crashed. In a 1989 survey, only 118 pairs were found singing on the south Devon coastline with no other cirl buntings recorded elsewhere in the UK.
The RSPB, determined not to lose them, launched the Cirl Bunting Project. Land managers and conservationists created perfect habitat around the surviving colonies, allowing birds to slowly spread into neighbouring land. Today there are over 1,070 pairs of cirl buntings in the South West. The heart of their population is still Devon and they have started to venture into Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall helped by the RSPB’s reintroduction project.
Some farmers have successfully managed their land for cirl buntings. They have extensively grazed cattle on pasture to encourage grasshoppers and crickets; the favourite summer food of cirl buntings. Spring barley crops have been sown, then cut and left as stubbles over the winter to encourage small weeds; the preferred winter seed snacks. Hedgerows have been allowed to grow tall and thick and scrub encouraged to provide dense thorny nesting sites. Now, after many years of waiting, cirl buntings are returning.
One of the most exciting aspects of my recent work with the RSPB as an ecologist in Devon was seeing the recovery of this iconic bird. It may be little, but it represents a lot, because where cirl buntings prosper so does other farmland wildlife from barn owls, to bumblebees and bats.
To celebrate the return of cirl buntings to the South West, I have written and illustrated a children’s book, Cyril’s Big Adventure. I hope that Cyril will fly into bedtime stories, school and libraries across the land and remind children and adults how wonderful and important our countryside and wildlife are. Cyril’s Big Adventure is £6.99 from RSPB shops, NHBS and all good bookshops. 50p from each copy sold goes to the RSPB’s cirl bunting project. For a signed & dedicated copy: http://www.5000mileproject.org/shop/
How to Encourage Cirl Buntings
Into your gardens: Spread millet and canary seed on the ground or on bird tables close to cover, especially between October-March.
On farmland: Extensive cattle-grazed tussocky pasture on sunny slopes produces grasshoppers and crickets for summer food. Thick hedgerows and clumps of scrub for nesting in. Spring-planted over-wintered barley stubbles provide little seeds for winter flocks.
Where to see Cirl Buntings
RSPB Cirl Bunting Reserve Labrador Bay- https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/labrador-bay/
RSPB Exminster and Powderham Reserves https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/exminster-and-powderham-marshes/
Prawle Point or ‘Prawliepudding Village’ as it’s called in the book!
For more information: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/cirl-bunting/watching-cirl-buntings/
How to support Cirl Buntings
Join the RSPB who are working to conserve cirl buntings or Donate specifically to the Cirl Bunting project: https://www.rspb.org.uk/join-and-donate/.
Volunteer for the RSPB: https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/volunteering-fundraising/volunteer/
About the author
Katharine Lowrie is an Ecologist who has worked for the RSPB and is currently establishing an eco-centre. She is the first woman to have run the length of South America, 6,504 miles, which she did for wildlife and wilderness. During this expedition, she undertook a bird megatransect. For more information or to buy her books see www.5000mileproject.org and FB @Nature Running & Adventure TW @5000mileproject
The images are featured in this post are the front cover of ‘Cyril’s Big Adventure’ and Cyril looking out over ‘Lannacuddle Bay’, ‘Prawliepudding’ both painted in watercolour & ink by Katharine Lowrie.
To hear Katharine reading her book about Cirl Buntings, see http://www.5000mileproject.org/2020/04/cyrils-big-adventure/?preview=true