Re: wild bird seed mixtures - any ideas ?

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wild bird seed mixtures - any ideas ?

Matthew 15 Jan 2010, 10:33 PM
A farm I advise on in Warwickshire has had excellent success with wild bird covers over the last 3 winters. The farmer has sown the same annual mix in most blocks in all years - a combination of kale (for cover), quinoa, millet, linseed and fodder radish. Bird numbers for this year are 800+ Linnet, 150 Reed Bunting, 46 Tree Sparrow, 100 Yellowhammer + loads of Brambling and Chaffinch. He has 5 separate bird mix blocks totalling about 9ha. However, several of the plots are located within fields which are otherwise in the 'rough grassland for target features' HLS option (which is also working really well for raptors), so we will not be able to move the bird mixes to other 'fresh' locations in the same field without ploughing out some of this grassland (something we are unwillling to do !) - we need to keep them in the same place. Therefore, rather than sowing this same mix again this spring, can anyone recommend a mix for a couple of years that will still deliver for the birds listed above, but provide some variation to help avoid pest and disease build up, and generally prevent it from becoming 'tired' ?
Matt

Re: wild bird seed mixtures - any ideas ?

emberiza 19 Jan 2010, 3:15 PM

Matthew,

Suggest putting in some blocks of annual mictures that have green manures but staggering the provision (so you have some of the mix you highlight and some of this other annual mix in any one year).

15% Mustard

5% Phacelia

20% White Millet

30% Triticale

30% Barley

@50kg per ha

 

At the following rates per ha:

 

7.5kg Mustard

2.5kg Phacelia

10kg White Millet

15kg Triticale

15kg Barley

 

= 50kg per ha

Maybe you could include a small rate of Gold of Pleasure/False Flax (Camelina sativa) i.e. 5% /2.5kg per ha by lowering one of the cereal components?

This mix has been used for good effect for the target species you mention such as Reed Bunting, Linnet, Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer. For Yellowhammer it maybe worth adding wheat in replacement of Barley, we found Yellowhammers generally have a preference mixes containg Wheat.

Cheers

Simon

 

 

Re: wild bird seed mixtures - any ideas ?

alauda26 22 Jan 2010, 1:30 PM

Would agree with Simon about the green manures within mixtures, but if broad-leaved weed build up is also an issue, might also want to throw some sprayable mixes in the rotation? 

Would any of the mixtures discussed earlier for organic systems be any good as fertility-building ones (e.g. sainfoin, vetch, birds-foot trefoil as understorey components)? 

To be used before or after a sprayable mix based around red and white millet, a couple of cereals, maybe linseed...  You should be able to use Jester, Shield or Bromotril on this?

Good bird numbers there though - haven't caught up with brambling yet this winter!

Re: wild bird seed mixtures - any ideas ?

Ian Gould 01 Feb 2010, 4:18 PM
One solution would be to split up the areas into 2 or more parts, then plant the mixture ingredients in simple combinations that could be sprayed and rotated.

For example, you could plant the cereals and linseed together, allowing the use of Ally (for example), then mix the others together and accept a few weeds there. The following season the mixes would be swapped over and the potentially weedy area could be cleaned up effectively with the Ally mix.

I have some reservations about some of the mixes that are being recommended, not because of the species involved, rather the rates of inclusion.  I would plant Mustard at 7kg per hectare on it's own, so I suggest that it would dominate a mixture too significantly at that rate.  Also Phacelia is quite dominant and I would use it at a much lower rate than is being suggested, especially in a WB Seed mix as it offers very little feed value.

Surprised to hear that Yellowhammer "prefer" mixtures containing wheat, but useful to know.  Triticale certainly helps to maintain the structural integrity of the crop and keeps the seed off the floor for longer, barley is the worst for this. 

On the subject of legumes and fertility builders, I would suggest extreme care with the rates of the legume in a WB Mix, as they have a tendency to quickly pull down the other elements in the mix if they are too thick.  This would render the crop useless quite early in the season as the seedheads would be on the floor and rotting.  We have introduced a strip concept on organic plots where the fertility builder provides an insect foraging area, but it is not aimed at producing any food grains.  The crop that does this follows on in the rotation.  This rotation can be on nearby plots if the distance is not too great, or in strips on a larger plot (often found in the new HLS agreements).

If anyone has any specific problem plots, please give me a call and I will try to help.  We are happy to mix up specific mixes for these situations and they are often very cost effective, as we leave out items that are unlikely to be successful. A successful simple crop will feed far more birds than a failed complicated one.

I have attached a picture of an Organic Wild Bird Seed plot, with a brassica mix and spring cereal mixture in adjacent strips. It worked beautifully and allowed both elements to be planted at their optimum time which promoted rapid establishment and fewer weed problems.

Looking forward to a busy spring

Ian Gould @ Oakbank
01480 890686


Re: wild bird seed mixtures - any ideas ?

Matthew 01 Feb 2010, 7:09 PM
Thanks for the comments - really useful. Will post some pictures etc on here when we can see some results. Will def try the strip idea Ian. Cheers.

Matt
Matt