British farmland bird numbers fall to record lows

FARMLAND bird numbers in England fell 5% last year to new record lows.

Statistics covering the 19 key species which breed or feed on farmland in England showed populations had more than halved since records began in 1966.

Conservationists said the year-on-year fall could be the result of a cold winter and the loss of “set-aside” land that farmers were paid to leave fallow, an EU policy abolished in 2007.