The Greater Cambridge Local Plan 2025–6

Posted on December 4, 2025 by user29464

The revised version of the Greater Cambridge Local Plan is now available for consultation and comment. One of the proposals has a direct impact on my ecological study area – this is Proposal S/CBC (Cambridge Biomedical Campus) which forms part of the ‘Site allocations’. I attach a pdf of the relevant section at the end of this post.

This map shows what is proposed. Two of the fields I study – Fields 1 and 2 – have already been released from green belt, and Field 1 is already all developed or under development while Field 2 is awaiting detailed planning proposals. Fields 7 and 8 are the areas which the local councils would also like to release from green belt for further development of the Biomedical Campus:

In the first round of local plan proposals the only mitigation offered was habitat improvement to Field 6. I had commented that this would be insufficient to replace vital habitat for threatened farmland birds, and the revised proposals also include three fields adjoining my study area (which I have called Fields A, B and C) as additional mitigation.

This leaves a real dilemma. On the one hand the combined release of the four fields removes around a third of the land in my study area available for farmland wildlife. On the other hand, the proposed three additional fields could possibly, if appropriately managed, offer threatened farmland birds and other wildlife an equivalent habitat.

I am working on my submission to the consultation at the moment and am consulting with local people and conservation organisations. I would welcome any comments and suggestions – you can message me either by leaving a comment below, or by using the email form on my contact page.

Here is the full S/CBC proposal:

S:CBC

The cotton famine road

Posted on October 2, 2025 by user29464

I grew up in Rochdale, one of the Lancashire cotton towns. As a child I used to walk up on Rooley Moor, just outside the town. It was there that began my lifelong love of hills, moorland and wild places. I particularly remember walking there in the hot, dry summer of 1959 when the level of water in the reservoirs was rather lower than when I took the photo on the right!

However, I only recently discovered that the cobbled road across the moor had important historical significance and is known locally as ‘The cotton famine road’.

The cotton famine happened when, during the American civil war, the northern states blockaded the southern ports. They wanted to prevent cotton exports – a vital source of income for the confederate states. This hit the Lancashire cotton industry hard, many of the mills closed, and many Rochdale millworkers found themselves without work and income.

However, the Rochdale millworkers were aware that when they opened a bale of cotton, the last hands which had touched the cotton had been slaves’ hands. So they chose to support the cause of abolition. To quote David Olusoga:

‘Even when they were hungry and destitute, thousands of workers in Rochdale stood in solidarity with the slaves of America.’

As the situation worsened, local councils including Rochdale launched famine relief funds to pay millworkers to work on public projects. One such project was to improve the road over Rooley Moor from Catley Lane Head up to Top of Leach, at 474 metres the highest point on the moor. Rochdale’s millworkers cut and laid a third of a million setts across the moor – it must have been tough work, especially in cold, wet weather.

Here’s my song about the Cotton Famine, filmed at Cambridge Folk Club. It features Lucinda Fudge (viola), Matt Kelly (violin) and John Meed (guitar and vocals). The Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Forum has been most helpful in my work on the song, and you can read their description of the road here. There is also a video about the road here. Alan Rawsterne from the forum supplied the photo featured at the top of this post.

You can download the song here.

Walks around Abergavenny

Posted on September 8, 2025 by user29464

In a brief visit to Newport, Gwent last year we had taken the train to Abergavenny in order to climb the Sugar Loaf (altitude 596m – a climb of 264m and distance of 9.7km up and then back to the station). From the station we had taken a taxi up to the car park near Mynydd Llanwenarth and from there had followed the main – and generally easy – path up the mountain.

On reaching the summit we had been shrouded in mist and drizzle and the view had been largely restricted to a friendly nearby sheep!

On the way down we had chosen the path on the north east side of St Mary’s Vale, passing through a remarkable forest of ancient trees:

Day 1: The Skirrid/Ysgyryd Fawr

So we returned to Abergavenny this year to celebrate my birthday, with the hope of gaining some better views from the nearby mountains. Our train arrived at 1.30 and we met our friend Mick (who I first met in 1969!) for a tea and chat. He also gave us a lift to the start of the path up today’s mountain – the Skirrid/Ysgyryd Fawr (altitude 486m – a climb of 296m and 4.3km), just outside the town. It was the first in a succession of encounters and acts of kindness that were to make the three days most memorable.

The climb up is initially quite steep, through woodland and conditions underfoot were very dusty after a dry period. However it was worth while to emerge onto the ridge with views over Wales to the west with the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains, and the rather less mountainous English fields to the east.

The ridge walk was altogether more gentle, with continuing views, though the cross wind from the remnants of Hurricane Erin made this rather less appetising than might otherwise have been the case. A merlin flashed by in pursuit of the numerous meadow pipits, and a red kite hung on the air.

We returned to the car park by the same path, and on the way down met a local woman who kindly offered us a lift back into town.

Day 2: Table mountain/Crug Hywel

On the second day we awoke to rain and waited until it cleared to take the noon X43 bus in the direction of Brecon, getting off in Crickhowell/Crughywel, and set off up Table Mountain/Crug Hywel (altitude 451m – a climb of 373m and 6.4km). After just over 1km along a quiet road, we took the track past The Wern farm and then a delightful path, firstly between two hedgerows but then opening up to climb a grassy slope with great views back across the River Usk/Afon Wysg valley.

After the dry summer a wild fire was burning on the moorland opposite.

On reaching open country, you can either go straight up the mountain, or skirt round the eastern flank before climbing up closer to the summit. As Erin was still blowing strongly we took the second option and were sheltered all the way to the summit. The views were stunning west towards the Brecon Beacons…

… north, along the valley into the Black Mountains…

…and east, over the village of Llanbedr towards The Sugar Loaf.

We had been tempted to carry on round the loop down Cym Cumbeth but will save this for another time and a longer day, and instead returned as we had come in time for the return bus.

Day 3: The valley of Grwyne Fawr

On the last morning we again woke to heavy rain and decided to stay at a lower level. We took the X43 bus again, this time stopping at Glangrwyney. We sheltered in the bus stop until the rain eased a little and then set off up the valley of the river Grwyne Fawr. The rain continued with differing degrees of intensity and after a while we met three women walking in the other direction, drenched. The umbrellas we borrowed from the hotel were proving their worth.

We crossed the river by a massive, ancient tree I did not recognise, and continued upstream passing a dipper, grey wagtail and kingfisher until we arrived in the small village of Llangenny. The pub was closed, but the toilets were open, and the publican welcomed us and suggested we open a parasol to shelter from the rain. He re-emerged a little later to comment that we looked most romantic under our parasol, and he then added he was about to make coffee and would we like some.

We carried on a little further to a series of rapids which the rain had brought fully to life.

We had hoped to carry on beyond this point but the rain persisted and we decided to turn back in order to catch an earlier bus before the rain drenched us as well.

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Planning and Infrastructure Bill: a case study of local impact

Posted on May 26, 2025 by user29464

The government is proposing a new Planning and Infrastructure Bill designed to ‘speed up and streamline the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure’. The Bill, and in particular Part 3: Development and nature recovery, has provoked an outcry among environmentalists. Beccy Speight, RSPB Chief Executive, has stated that ‘the Bill in its current form will rip the heart out of environmental protections and risks sending nature further into freefall’. The Wildlife Trusts have called on the UK Government to ‘completely remove the section of the Bill (Part 3) that threatens nature’s recovery’. And in an open letter to the Government 40 experts have called the Bill a ‘licence to kill nature’.

I have examined the Bill from the perspective of places like my study area around Nine Wells, and am sending the letter below to Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and an edited version to Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. I urge others to write to your MP – there’s also a template letter on the Wildlife Trust page.

Dear Rachel Reeves

For the last thirteen years I have been carrying out an ecological study of a square kilometre of arable land immediately south of Cambridge, bordered by Addenbrookes Hospital and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. My study shows that the area is home to remarkable populations of threatened farmland birds, and I attach my most recent report. It provides a valuable case study for assessing the proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and most specifically the impact of Part 3: Development and nature recovery on biodiversity.

When you visited Discovery Drive last November, it is unlikely that anybody told you that in 2016 it had been an arable field hosting a lek of grey partridges; indeed on February 11th of that year I recorded nine pairs on this field alone, with two other pairs very close by. Grey partridge, iconic farmland birds, declined by 93% between 1970 and 2018 and have recently been classified as ‘vulnerable to extinction’ in the UK, along with one in six of all our wild species.

Across the square kilometre I have recorded 12-18 pairs of grey partridge each spring and up to 90 birds in the autumn over the last thirteen years; this is an exceptional population matched only in areas with high levels of conservation management targeted at the species. I also record 8–11 corn bunting territories, another species that has declined by 89% and is ’near threatened’ – there are now just 11,000 pairs in the UK and their recent extinction in Ireland is being repeated in large parts of Britain. In addition there are over 50 pairs of skylarks, around 15 pairs of linnets and yellowhammers, and 1–3 pairs of yellow wagtails, all red-listed birds of high conservation concern, together with water voles, 20 brown hares and a wide range of butterflies, dragonflies and other invertebrates (see Note 1).

My study area is under considerable pressure from development and as such provides a useful case study for anyone considering changes to biodiversity protection.

Firstly, it is a pocket of biodiversity with a variety of habitats, unlike neighbouring fields which support much less farmland wildlife. Legislation for nature recovery should help areas richer in biodiversity to expand and join up with other areas.
Secondly, existing legislation has been insufficient to prevent loss of habitat or sufficient mitigation (see Note 2) and this is forcing threatened species into an ever-reducing area, placing them at greater risk.
Thirdly, while I am able to work constructively with the local councils, landowners and the Biomedical Campus to suggest initiatives that will benefit wildlife, changes in legislation could very easily provide additional incentives for such initiatives (see Note 3).

So will Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill as envisaged increase or reduce protection for pockets of biodiversity like this?

Already the habitat surveys carried out for developers too often underestimate biodiversity (see Note 4). The proposed Nature Restoration Fund will exacerbate this, as it will allow landowners and developers to ‘no longer be required to undertake their own assessments’, and this can only result in further underestimations of existing biodiversity. It will instead allow them to pay a Nature Restoration Levy for habitat improvement elsewhere ‘on a protected site or species’, pushing existing wildlife in places like my study area further down the road to extinction.
The Nature Restoration Fund carries an additional risk. By speeding development and directing funding into protected sites, it will speed a process whereby the places we live and work are increasingly isolated and divorced from nature reserves. But my study area demonstrates that this process is not inevitable – the area is used extensively by local residents for exercise, leisure and relaxation, and furthermore most people arrive on foot or by bicycle. And the area is also a valuable example of how enlightened land management can safeguard biodiversity while providing employment and remaining profitable.
The Bill repeatedly argues that, under existing legislation, wildlife gets in the way of construction. The Guide to the Bill states that development ‘is being blocked where specific mitigation measures are not readily available’, ‘development is often delayed until sufficient mitigation is put in place’ and this ‘can slow housing delivery, with accompanying burdens on developers’. However in my study area this is clearly not the case – the habitat surveys I encounter are quite incapable of ‘blocking’ or even ‘delaying’ development. Statements like these suggest that the Bill’s wish to ‘facilitate faster delivery of housing across England’ is a far higher priority than ‘supporting nature recovery’.

My study area underlines how it is not just large protected sites that need protection and enhancement; there are many smaller patches across the country that provide hope for biodiversity, but which risk being placed under greater threat through ill-judged legislation. The UK is already one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. If the government is genuinely committed to supporting nature recovery and halting extinction, Part 3 of the Bill and the proposed Nature Restoration Fund need fundamental rethinking to ensure that existing protections of nature will not be weakened, and that the wildlife in areas like the one I study will not be sacrificed in the interests of an over-optimistic ‘holistic view’.

Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. I shall look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

John Meed, Researcher and Writer

Note 1 For more detail see Meed, J, 2022, A haven for Farmland Birds, Independent Publishing Network

Note 2: For example, the development of Discovery Drive has proceeded with no suitable mitigation to make good the habitat lost to wildlife.

Note 3: In the case of my study area, appropriate mitigation would entail habitat improvement in adjoining fields such as more hedgerows, margins, copses. beetle banks and small patches of winter bird food. Such improvements cost money (though very little) which could be funded from the sale of land for development.

Note 4: For example, a 2014 habitat survey cited in a recent Discovery Drive planning application wrongly categorised the wheat field as amenity grassland and reported that ‘it is unlikely that the site supports notable farmland birds’ and ‘does not provide opportunities for grey partridge and corn bunting’. These statements were incorrect.

Nine_wells_Survey_report_2024

Kafka’s sister

Posted on October 20, 2024 by user29464

2024 has marked the centenary of Franz Kafka’s early death from tuberculosis. In August we visited an exhibition in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, which holds the majority of Franz Kafka’s archive. This inspired me to find out more about Franz’s life. A podcast (Ottla Kafka, la sœur chérie : hors du monde haïssable) led me to his remarkable sister, Ottla, and his Letters to Ottla and the Family.

Ottla was born in 1892, the youngest of Franz’s three sisters. Although there was an age difference of nine years, as she grew up the two siblings became very close. Franz was to write that ‘the love to the others notwithstanding,’ Ottla was ‘the dearest by far‘. In different ways, both Franz and Ottla rebelled against the bourgeois conventions and expectations of their Jewish merchant father, and supported each other in their struggles for independence.

Against her parents’ wishes but with Franz’s encouragement, Ottla decided she wanted to work in agriculture. In 1917, aged 25, she took over the farm of a member of her family in Zürau in Bohemia. Franz joined her there, helped in the gardens, and found an environment in which he could write. In 1918 he helped her identify possible agricultural colleges. He obtained catalogues and sought guidance as to which might be suitable and prepared to accept a female student. He even offered to pay the fees. Eventually Ottla became the first woman to study at the Friedland agricultural school.

Ottla’s two sisters, Elli and Valli, had gone along with their parents’ choice of an appropriate Jewish man to marry. However, Ottla was again not prepared to submit to her family’s wishes. Instead in July 1920 she married Josef David, a Czech Catholic. Franz once more supported her, writing that: ‘You know that you are doing something extraordinary and that it is extremely difficult to do the extraordinary well.’ Later he wrote again that ‘since between the two of us you are the more suitable one (to get married) you are doing it for us… In exchange, I am staying single for both of us.’

Equally, Ottla supported Franz in his own struggles. Above all, she recognised the importance of his writing. As well as moral support she offered him places where he could write in peace. He stayed in her flat in Prague and in the farm in Zürau, from which he wrote to his friend Max Brod that ‘Ottla carries me on her wings through a difficult world‘. And as his tuberculosis developed, she helped to persuade his employer to allow him time off work, and eventually early retirement (Franz wrote to her to thank her for ‘a terrific job’). Before his death in 1924 he got to know Ottla’s two daughters, and stayed in her family homes in Planá and Schelesen.

Marthe Bernard, who wrote extensively about Franz and translated many of this writings into French, commented that ‘The letters to Ottla reflect … a very, very close and affectionate relationship‘. And in one of his final letters to Ottla in October 1923, by which time his health was declining fast, his love and respect for his sister shines through:

‘We do not need to discuss whether you would disturb me. If everything else in the world were to disturb me – and it has almost reached that point – not you.’

Ottla’s independent spirit proved too much for her husband, and they eventually divorced. The exact circumstances of the divorce are not entirely clear, but it coincided with the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. It seems very likely that one of Ottla’s motivations was to protect her husband and children from the dangers they faced with a Jewish wife and mother. In doing this however, she put herself at even greater risk, and in 1943 the Nazis deported her to the Terezín ghetto (Thereseinstadt in German).

Here she worked closely with orphaned children, including a group of Polish children who arrived emaciated and extremely frightened. In her moving last letter to her daughters in October 1943 she wrote that she had volunteered to accompany the children on what turned out to be the journey to Auschwitz. Here they – and she (aged just 50) – were murdered on arrival.

I have found Ottla’s story inspiring – she must have been a remarkable person. She also offers a profound reminder of the dangers of extreme right wing ideas becoming acceptable. Scapegoating particular groups of people blinds us to the immense human value of individuals like Ottla who, in Franz’s words, was ‘pure, true and honest, (always able to balance) humility and pride, loyalty and independence, modesty and courage‘. Unsurprisingly, her story has also inspired a song.

Both of Franz’s other sisters, their husbands and most of their children also died in the death camps. However, Ottla’s daughters stayed safely with their father, in no small part thanks to Ottla’s self-sacrifice. They preserved the letters from Franz and these were published in German in 1974, and in English in 1982. In 2021 the Bodleian Library and the Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Marbach purchased them jointly. Unfortunately her letters to him have not survived. However, her letters to her husband and daughters leave us with the voice of a very special woman.

Lovely reviews of ‘A sudden rain’

Posted on April 1, 2024 by user29464

We have received some very positive reviews for our new album, A sudden rain. John Barlass, writing in At the barrier, enthuses:

‘If you haven’t come across John Meed before, let me tell you that he’s songwriter of great perception and insight, willing to tackle the issues that have the greatest impact upon people’s lives and interactions… He’s taken the opportunity to enhance his thoughtful songs with a little help from some talented friends, and the result is something quite remarkable.’ The full review is here.

Ian Hall, writing in Liverpool Sound and Vision, comments:

‘The sense of fulfilled flawlessness that resides in John Meed’s exploration of sound and the haunting additional, unhindered string arrangements reflects the continued abundance of thought that the musician utilises… A wonderful album, John Meed proving that inspiration is only a storm cloud away, and one that can bring a soul back to life in its wake.’ The full review is here.

David Pearson writes in Spirit Rocks:

‘His songs are thoughtful and deep, paced for you to soak in the arrangements and content. It is uncomplicated yet thought-provoking, his voice having an almost spoken, poetic quality, yet with strong melodic timbre that suits the clear melodies.’

Steve Johnson writes in Morning Star:

‘This album is basically a call for faith in humanity wherever we live.’

Carl Filby, in Unicorn Folk, concludes:

‘After all that do I have to spell it out that I like this lovely album? It has the feel of a long letter written by a friend about his adventures and subsequent thoughts since you last saw him.’

And finally, this lovely comment from Mick, who enjoyed our set in support of Angeline Morrison at the Black Fen Folk Club:

‘I love your album – it’s playing as I write this. As a (very amateur) songwriter myself I can only listen to your album with a mixture of admiration, pleasure and insane jealousy!’

A sudden rain is available here.

New album, video and album launch

Posted on February 22, 2024 by user29464

Our new album, ‘A sudden rain’, is now available. After a long songwriting drought, spending time in Nepal in 2019 reawakened my creativity and all but one of the songs emerged over the following year and a half. However, lockdowns restricted our opportunities to rehearse, play and record the songs. They have only reached their current form thanks to Lucinda Fudge and Matt Kelly, whose beautiful string arrangements brought them to life, and to Rhys Wilson, who in addition to his own musical contributions gave patient advice and help with recording and production, and mastered the album. Hedy Boland played kora on ‘Boulevard de Strasbourg’ and the choir Mnatobi joined me for a re-recording of Thessalonika. You can listen to, order or download the album here.

I’ve prepared a video for the first song on the album, ‘Panauti’. Panauti is a small rural town a two-hour bus ride east of Kathmandu, and we stayed there with the family of Biju and her daughters Aayusha and Nirusha. The welcome they gave us was beyond compare – it was a privilege to meet them and our stay was most memorable. The video includes pictures of the town, surrounding countryside and the family. There is more about our stay in Panauti here and you can watch the video below:

Lucinda, Matt, Rhys and I will be launching the album at Cambridge Folk Club on March 22nd, in partnership with The Battered Case (Mark Gamon and friends). The concert will start at 8pm and takes place in the Golden Hind, 355 Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1SP. Tickets are available here.

We will also be playing songs from the album in Rock Road Library on May 24th, and will play a short set in support of Angeline Morrison at the Black Fen Folk Club on March 17th.

Press release for ‘A sudden rain’

Posted on February 6, 2024 by user29464

Consumate storyteller explores new musical territory with addition of evocative string arrangements.

Release date and album launch at Cambridge Folk Club: 22nd March 2022.

On his ninth album ‘A Sudden Rain’ Cambridge-based lyrical storytelling songwriter John Meed explores new musical ideas and territory with the addition of evocative and emotive string arrangements and a choir. ‘The songs only reached their current form thanks to Lucinda Fudge and Matt Kelly, whose beautiful string arrangements brought them to life, and to Rhys Wilson, who gave patient advice and help with recording and production, and who mastered the album’ says John. Equally the choir Mnatobi joined him on Thessalonika, and Hedy Boland played kora on Strasbourg.

Regarding the songs John states that ‘After a long songwriting drought, spending time in Nepal in 2019 reawakened my creativity and all but one of these songs emerged over the following year and a half.’ Four songs on the album: Panauti, Real life, Summer rain and Progress, were directly inspired by the Nepal experience. John adds: ‘In Panauti we had the great privilege to stay with a local family, whose hospitality was remarkable. And across the country, we were time and again touched by the warmth of the welcome we received.’

Real life stories have always inspired John and this is certainly the case with three of the album’s songs. On Le boulevard du Strasbourg John states that: ‘Les 18 du 57 boulevard du Strasbourg’ – workers without papers – went on strike against their appalling working conditions, and won the right to regularisation after occupying their workplace. Many of the words for the song come from the workers themselves in a film produced by the Collectif des Cinéastes pour les sans-papiers’. Cotton famine road tells the story of how the American civil war cut off supplies of cotton to the Lancashire mills. Rochdale mill workers, aware that their cotton had been picked by slaves, supported the struggle for freedom, despite the resulting ‘cotton famine’. Public funding paid them to build the road across Rooley Moor, an area where John used to walk during his childhood.

Thessalonika is an older song that John had always wanted to re-record with strings and a choir. ‘It’s about Zoe Kaltaki, a remarkable Greek woman who fought the Nazis in her native Greece, and then fought for the communists against the Greek army, before fleeing to exile in Czechoslovakia’ he states. ‘When she finally returned home she was asked where she felt more at home and she replied, rather ambiguously, ‘I feel at home where I can be myself’. John comments: ‘I felt her story somehow summed up the turbulent twentieth century.’

The remaining 3 songs tell differing tales. Rooted is a song of belonging or seeking to belong, Arden, with its nod to Shakespeare, is an emotive tale, while the album concludes with Don’t Look Back urging us to learn from the past, but to look to the future. John’s writing has been compared to Al Stewart, Leonard Cohen, Christy Moore, Jacques Brel and Richard Thompson, widely reviewed and played on many BBC and community radio shows and stations across the UK and beyond.

‘A sublime singer-songwriter, whose beautiful songs are thoughtful, emotional and political.’ Strummers, Cambridge

Listen/buy on Bandcamp.

The value of arable weeds: a case study

Posted on August 20, 2023 by user29464

I tread carefully over a carpet of field pansies and scarlet pimpernel. A host of bees and other pollinators buzz around me. Overhead fly linnets and a family of corn buntings. The nearby grassy margin is alive with grasshoppers and moths. And I am reminded once more of the value of arable weeds to the threatened farmland birds that do so well in the fields I study just south of Cambridge.

Weeds provide food for the birds in the form of leaves, shoots and seeds. They are host plants for the invertebrates that grey partridge chicks and other young birds depend on in their early days. As I describe in A haven for farmland birds, the intensification of farming and in particular the increased use of pesticides are among the main reasons for the shocking declines of farmland birds.

During the spring and summer of 2023, three of the fields – owned by Cambridgeshire County Council and farmed by Peter Wombwell – were planted with beans. As May progressed, a variety of weeds grew between the bean plants, including on the right fumitory, a plant whose flowers provide nectar for pollinators, whose leaves are eaten by a range of invertebrates, and whose seeds provide food for finches and buntings.

As the beans ripened in late July, grasses and flowering plants came into their own:

By early August I was recording good numbers of butterflies, notably small heaths and gatekeepers, but also the stunning brown argus butterflies (right, a female), which already have a small colony elsewhere on the site. Might they be establishing a colony here as well?

Once the crop was harvested around August 17th, the potential benefits to wildlife became even clearer. As well as the pansies and scarlet pimpernel, there was a riot of other flowering plants, including poppies, thistles, yarrow, and mayweed. Many of the flowers were going to seed, attracting finches and buntings. One grassy corner had been left uncut, providing potential cover for the grey partridge that have hopefully been able to raise their young here.

The fields were cultivated a week after harvest, bringing the weed bonanza to an end, but they had nonetheless provided valuable additional food through a crucial time of the year. I checked with the landowner whether herbicide had been applied and although the farmer did spray early, the weather and the type of herbicide used combined to reduce the impact on weeds. I also checked whether the weeds may have had a negative impact on the crop. In practice, yield was down by a quarter to a third, but this was principally due to the frosty weather which knocked back some of the bean plants and left the crop a bit more gappy than usual (which also benefited the weeds and butterflies).

One of the most interesting things about the area of land I study is that such a good level of biodiversity is able to coexist with intensive and profitable agriculture. Several factors contribute to this, of which the variety of habitats (particularly margins) is key, but reduced pesticide use like this is clearly also important.

And on September 11th I recorded a group of 17 grey partridge by one of the fields – a remarkable number which suggested that the young birds had received a good diet in the crucial early weeks.

BTO review of ‘A haven for farmland birds’

Posted on July 20, 2023 by user29464

A while ago I sent a review copy of my book ‘A haven for farmland birds’ to the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) and the review is now available via this link.

It’s a lovely review, written by the BTO’s Wader Project Officer, Paul Noyes, who concludes:

‘We are lucky to have people like John, who will spend long hours peering over hedgerows and creeping through ditches, watching for the great British natural capital we are all too often oblivious of (as the book’s final two pages may sadly indicate), and this lovely book is well worth the 144 whistle-stop pages.’