Re: Rotating wild bird seed mix with fallow plot

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Rotating wild bird seed mix with fallow plot

alauda26 17 Feb 2010, 11:10 AM

Ok - another rotational question!

What practical and agronomic issues would we run into if we set up a rotation of a 2 year wild bird seed mix tailored to provide nesting and some winter feeding habitat for corn buntings, but followed with a standard lapwing fallow plot in the same location?

So you'd establish your corn bunting seed mix in Aug 2010, then leave over 2011, right up until the end of summer 2012.  You'd then have autumn and winter of 2012 to clean it up before going into a fallow in spring 2013.  You'd probably have a bit of time to clean it up again late summer 2013 (?) before going back into re-establish the seed mix again in autumn 2013.

Bit concerned that we could be building up a massive weed seed burden, and that the prescriptions for the options might not fit this. And it's complex and easy to forget what should happen when!

And of course, you'd ideally need this replicated over a large area, so that you've always got both features present somewhere suitable.  Thoughts?

Re: Rotating wild bird seed mix with fallow plot

mike.mcdowall 05 Mar 2010, 8:15 AM
Interesting. Just been getting advice from Hywrl Maggs on mixes for corn bunting. He is suggesting I replace my two year mixes (alternating halves of a plot) with one year mix resown every year over the whole plot. What two year mix might you recommend ?

I was going to use a cereal (including oats) / linseed mix. However this plot is important for linnet in winter, so had been considering adding a drop of spring rape*. Has anybody got any thoughts on whether that would be detrimental in a "corn bunting" plot.

Note, corn bunting are unknown in our area, whereas we ring of the order of 1000 linnet on this plot every winter. Don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water.

* As a matter of fact, we might get spring rape volunteers anyway.

Back to your questions. Obviously have little experience of corn bunting. Have had plots for lapwing. First question is - will they use this area ? Lapwing seem to be very set in their ways. there are places they will use, and places they won't. This may well be due to habitat features we are not conscious of. However, if you have areas of the farm where you know lapwing have bred in the past, I would keep your plots there regardless of where your corn bunting plots are.

On weed control ... I would have thought you would get away with that. However, I would avoid the plough, any kind of deep cultivation, like the plague. I'd aim to keep the weed seed on the surface where you can see it, control it (with derogations if required). Avoid burying a legacy which might come back to bite you in a broad-leaved crop or after the favoured chemical has been torpedoed by the EU.

Using a one year mix would allow glyphosate to take out perennials, stale seedbed and glyphosate again at the end of each winter before sowing again. would that run the risk of a droughted seedbed in your area ?

The biggest problem might be maintaining enough fertility. Do you use clover in your mix ?

Mike.

P.S. I am speaking from an all arable point of view. What about you ?

Re: Rotating wild bird seed mix with fallow plot

alauda26 17 Mar 2010, 5:09 PM
I was going to suggest a barley, triticale, oats mix, with a dash of forage rape added for structural variety. However, I was going to go for an autumn sowing, and then leaving it for a second season and rely on volunteers etc.

And yes, this is a part of the farm which already regularly holds lapwing as well as corn bunting territories, so we're keen to integrate management for both if we can!

Good thought about not doing any significant cultivation though, and about potential future fertility.

Thanks.


Re: Rotating wild bird seed mix with fallow plot

emberiza 18 Mar 2010, 4:29 PM
Interesting - I think fallowing this gives you the opportunity of cleaning the plot up with a non selective herbicide preceeding your fallow plot for ground nesting birds.

In the attached picture you can see the 2 year autumn sown mix with a spring sown mix alongside. this works very well for Corn bunting with c.130 on this one plot over the winter and several (3+) occupied territories over the summer months.

Re: Rotating wild bird seed mix with fallow plot

Ian Gould 19 Mar 2010, 1:46 PM
Qu.  Are Natural England happy to leave a WB seed mix in situ for 2 years if it does not contain species that seed in year 2 ie Kale.  Is ".......relying on volunteers" an acceptable management option? 



Re: Rotating wild bird seed mix with fallow plot

JoulesH 30 Mar 2010, 11:34 AM
I'm also looking into seed mixes for our HLS, target spp include tree sparrows, linnets, yellowhammers, reed buntings. We are on heavy land and have always struggled with spring sowing although quinoa in particular has done v well. We are looking to rotate the plots and to autumn sow to ease management (we are small scale so contractors hate us and had to come in specially to do the bird cover in spring). So sow an autumn mix call this Autumn 1 when the field goes into w wheat, this will not produce seed until the following autumn (Autumn 2) when the field will also be in wheat. After 2 wheats we have a fallow so in Autumn 3 we would not drill wheat but leave stubble, the seed plots will also only be whatever comes - volunteers as suggested before - and then fallow including the seed plots the next summer and then it goes back into grass for 5 years in Autumn 4. In any winter, we will have 1 bird plot with an immature crop in, 1 with a mature seed crop in and one which is now fallow. I will be discussing with our NE adviser and we will also have some non-rotational plots where we do something different. (on that note, given how fast quinoa grows, has anyone had success seeded strips into an autumn mix in the springtime?) To avoid having nothing in the last 'fallow' winter, is there anything that is autumn sown that will give us seed in Autumn 3?

Re: Rotating wild bird seed mix with fallow plot

emberiza 31 Mar 2010, 4:54 PM
in response to the compliance question on the 2 year wild bird mix for Corn bunting - it is only permissable under HLS through the HF12 Enhanced Wild Bird Mix and only then on agreement with your Natural England adviser and where Corn Buntings are proven to be in good numbers.

Regards

Simon