Page 46 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

INTRODUCTION

FARMLAND AND GRASSLAND

atural grassland habitats have been almost
Neliminated from most of Europe by
millennia of agricultural development.Those
remaining are now rare and fragile.They host
a collection of wildlife, including birds whose
requirements are very specific, and which are
often shy and easily disturbed by human activity. GREAT BUSTARDS
Change of any kind, including irrigation, These birds are among Europe’s most threatened,
ploughing, over-grazing, and encroachment by as they face pressure from agriculture.
trees, spells disaster for them.
FOLLOWING THE PLOUGH
Not all birds avoid farming activities: Lapwings, Black-headed
FARMLAND Gulls, Jackdaws, and Rooks find food on ploughed fields.
Agricultural land is naturally rich and full
of birds but intensification, especially
change from mixed farming to a dry,
unvarying monoculture, removes birds
from vast areas of countryside. However,
arable land that is ploughed for growing
a variety of crops does offer feeding
opportunities – a wealth of invertebrate
food when the earth is turned over and
insect food in growing crops. Old,
unimproved grassland, which is grazed by
animals, has a wide range of plants and
insects and many safe nest sites.

GRASSLAND LESSER KESTREL
This handsome falcon
Dry grassy steppes have species that are adapted to living within has suffered a long-term
semi-arid environments, including bustards, sandgrouse, and larks. decline. This may be due
They survive in such places by foraging within the short vegetation, to the pesticides that have
but irrigation and development schemes have ruined a lot of these reduced its insect prey in
habitats and threaten many more, including the last great steppe both Europe and Africa,
lands in Eastern Europe. Other grassy habitats, such as where it spends the winter.
the cold, wet northern moorlands through to hot
Mediterranean scrub are “farmed” by being grazed
by millions of sheep.They would not look the WHITE STORK
same nor have the same birds if such usage changed White Storks survive on farmland
as the areas would quickly be invaded by scrub. On unless it is intensively cultivated
the other hand, too many sheep and goats reduce and drained. They eat frogs and
the variety of plants and destroy the structure of the small rodents, which require
vegetation, so grazing at just the right intensity is marshy ground or tall,
vital to the survival of birds and other wildlife. rich grassland.

ABUNDANT FOOD SUPPLIES
Grassland in northern and western
Europe has periodic increases in vole
populations, which attracts Short-eared
Owls and Kestrels in large numbers.

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