Birds and wildlife

How we help our farmland birds:

• Provide suitable nesting habitat using set aside, spring cereals or hay.
• Keep grassy headlands, unused field corners and field margins, especially along hedges and ditches, as nesting areas and seed-rich habitats.
• Establish and manage hedgerows, scrub and trees to provide seeds, berries and nesting cover.
• Maintain buildings that may provide nesting sites.
• Provide nest boxes to encourage birds to set up home.
• Keep areas of long grass and tussocks as nesting areas and cover for voles.
• Create small plots of wild bird seed cover.that will feed seed eating birds.
• Leave grassland uncut between April and the end of July for ground nesting birds.
• Provide invertebrate rich areas such as beetle banks and tussocky grass field margins.
• Avoid pesticides as these reduce food availability for many chicks and adult birds.
• Leave areas of over-winter stubble to give an important winter food source for seed eating birds.

For guidance and information on seagulls, call Environlink on 0345 2000 103 or visit www.rspb.org.uk.

The Newcastle and North Tyneside Bats and Development Guide gives guidance on developing where bats are likely to be present and where a developer would be expected to submit a bat survey.