Farmers getting up with the lark

 
April 2010: Getting up with the larks for International Dawn Chorus Day this Sunday (May 2) may not be high on the list of things to do for many of us this bank holiday weekend, but 60 dairy farmers around the UK will be making it a priority.

Identifying the array of wild birds visiting their farms may not be what you'd normally expect from some of the UK's leading dairy farmers. But for producers involved in the Waitrose WildCare scheme, it's all part of the job.

LIFE ON THE FARM: A skylark - one of the many species to benefit from Waitrose's WildCare scheme.

Incentivised to encourage wildlife onto their farms the scheme demands that a minimum of ten per cent of their farmed area is devoted to natural habitats for wildlife.

"Dawn is a prime time for lively bird activity and hearing bird song," says Tim Oliver who coordinates the scheme. "Dairy farming remains one of the few professions that require working in the countryside at that time of day so it's an excellent opportunity to record sightings of birds and other plant and animal species.

'I've seen birds, butterflies - even a family of barn owls'

Tim explains that skylarks are just one of the bird species you can expect to hear around 4.30am until 6am at this time of year and are just one example of the wildlife that the WildCare farmers will be recording - on Dawn Chorus Day, and all year round.

With all the 60 Waitrose WildCare farms recording increases in the level of biodiversity on their farms, the scheme - now in its fourth year - has also seen the farmers themselves becoming more adept at bird spotting than many farmers.

Wiltshire dairy producer Ashton Hawker admits to being far better able to identify the different bird species. "I've lived on the farm all my life, but I didn't used to have much idea about what all the birds were. The Waitrose WildCare scheme has definitely cultivated an interest in the farm's wildlife for me and the abundance of birds, butterflies, hares, pond life and even a family of barn owls is great to see," he says.