PROJECT REPORT Conservation Project: Wild bird feeding

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1 PROJECT REPORT Conservation Project: Wild bird feeding Prepared for: The Nineveh Charitable Trust Date: 22nd June 2017 Introduction: We are enormously grateful to the Trustees of The Nineveh Charitable Trust for their support of Caring For Life s wild bird feeding programme over the past year. Not only has this helped us to further increase and sustain the number of species on site; it has also enabled us to involve vulnerable adults in this project, at every level. This has provided them with opportunities they could never have imagined! During the year, the bird feeding team of staff, volunteers and beneficiaries attending therapeutic activity projects at Crag House Farm, has carefully maintained the different feeding stations around the Farm. Some areas, such as the sensory gardens, contain several feeders, and other areas have feeders spaced at intervals, set into woodland, on trees alongside the Fruit and Nut Zone walkway, and in areas near to the Centre and football field, where people attending the various projects can enjoy observing the birds coming to feed. All the feeders are filled three times each week, and, whatever the time of year, the feeders are invariably empty by the time the team arrives to fill them! A wild bird general seed mix is used, but a mixture which contains plenty of the smaller seeds beloved by tree sparrows, as well as finches and tits. During the winter, fat balls were made from the seed, using melted fat, to help the smaller birds through the cold months. Then several times during the year, the feeders were thoroughly cleaned with hot soapy water, to ensure a level of hygiene, with broken, chewed or otherwise damaged feeders being repaired by or replaced from our own woodwork workshop on site. A continual battle is waged against grey squirrels, which damage the feeders very swiftly, but the workshop team is seeking to improve the design of the feeders, adding metal strips to help prevent damage by squirrels.

2 Benefits for People! The routine nature of the bird feeding task, combined with a sense of responsibility to care for the birds, especially during the winter months, is of great benefit to people who cling to routines because of anxiety or Aspergers Syndrome. It can also help people understand more clearly the need to care for themselves. Six people, who have very varied needs, take part in the bird feeding project on a regular weekly basis, with six others involved occasionally. In addition to the benefit of providing a soothing, consistent routine, the project also benefits vulnerable people through physical exercise, stimulation and education, as they walk through the countryside and seek to learn to identify the birds, wild flowers and butterflies they see. Now and again, the same team also get involved in pond dipping, helping to monitor the health of the ponds on site. Whilst the Farm is only a quarter of a mile from the nearest housing and bus routes, as well as being in clear sight of the airport, walking around the gardens and woodland areas can feel a whole world apart, and this in itself is extremely therapeutic for people who are troubled. Benefits for Wildlife! As a result of maintaining the bird feeding stations, combined with a programme of installing nest boxes and ensuring that the entire Crag House Farm site is farmed in an environmentally-friendly manner, the number of species sighted at the Farm has increased, together with the numbers seen feeding at the stations. New arrivals at the bird feeding stations during 2016 were siskins, nuthatches and bullfinches. During the winter, flocks of long-tailed tits were also seen on the feeders, as well as jays. The number of tree sparrows nesting on site, now in eight separate areas and colonies, has attracted the attention of predators, and a sparrowhawk is frequently seen, biding its time near a feeder, or speeding through trees to make a kill. Kestrels also nest on the Farm, and it can be quite something to see a flock of swallows seeing off a sparrowhawk or kestrel, to protect their own nest sites in the stables. Recording Species: In recent months, a new system for recording species of birds, plants, butterflies, moths, mammals and pondlife has been introduced, in order to provide a more accurate picture of the increased biodiversity of species on site. Details logged by

3 different enthusiasts have been collated from their nature notes, and a simple but centralized system is in place for people to record sightings. These are then logged onto a database, from which graphs can be drawn up to monitor trends. Whilst graphs can show strange and incorrect results, e.g. with large numbers of species seen when a local specialist group undertook surveys, or very poor results when nothing was logged, the graphs do however show a considerable overall increase in biodiversity on site, linked to the specific environmental measures undertaken and habitat creation Number of Bird Species seen at Crag House Farm from 1980 to 2016 Species seen have been uploaded to BTO, the British Trust for Ornithology, and are now being uploaded on a more regular basis, rather than only providing information on the occasional rarity sighted. We remain thrilled that a total of 15 species of birds which are currently on the Red List (BoCC4 Red) are nesting or regularly seen on site, and also 15 from the BoCC4 Amber List. Wider Benefits: Each year, Caring For Life runs its own version of Springwatch and during 2016 and 2017, competition to sight the different species highlighted has been more fierce than ever. As people attending the projects became more skilled at identifying bluebells, wild plum blossom, and swallows, the competition has been made more difficult by adding in swifts and house martins, skylarks and chiffchaffs. Listening to bird calls via the internet on mobile phones has been a very helpful way to enable people to learn to identify birds without necessarily seeing them. It can be a great encouragement to hear a young man, who barely used language when he first came to the Farm, such was the level of neglect he suffered in

4 childhood, trying to describe his sighting of a curlew, I ve seen it! That big brown bird, in the bottom field, where it s wet. The agricultural project leader was able to confirm that this was a correct sighting, and this particular young man races to be the first to see the curlew every year. It is impossible to place a value of the benefits of such experiences for vulnerable adults, who grew up as neglected and often abused children in inner city areas, never getting out into the countryside. As a part of helping vulnerable adults to learn to appreciate and enjoy, plus protect, the world around them, regular local walks also take place, such as a recent walk to the bluebell woods at the Farm, and also walks on the local moors at Ilkley, or round local reservoirs. Those supported by Caring For Life see the Farm very much as their Farm, which they are very keen to protect and care for, so they are incensed if they see anyone dropping litter, and this in itself is a huge step for them to make. Pen Pictures: Julie has Aspergers Syndrome and a history of depression and general low mood, plus self harm and risky behaviour. Whilst her mood is not always lifted by the natural world around her at Crag House Farm, Julie is very conscious of the fact that all living creatures need to be cared for. Just as Julie loves her pets at home, she also cares faithfully for the wild birds, taking part in the feeding programme regularly and wanting to know that these living creatures are provided for. Although she does not always care much about herself, the routine of this project is of real value to Julie, as is the opportunity to chat away to the staff or volunteers she is with, and to form part of a small team. Gaynor has many issues to cope with in life, lives alone and has a significant learning difficulty, as well as mobility issues following a series of strokes. Nevertheless, Gaynor attends the project very regularly, and walks all around the Farm site, determined to do what she can, and to ensure that the birds are provided for. It helps Gaynor to be part of a small team, within which she feels happy and safe. Gaynor has fallen foul of some of the radical welfare reforms and lost all her disability benefits, despite her level of need. Caring For Life s benefits support worker

5 is helping Gaynor to claim the correct benefits, and appealing on her behalf when wrong decisions have been made. The confidence Gaynor has developed on the bird feeding project is helping her to trust and accept the help she so desperately needs in her own life. Conclusion We are deeply grateful for the support of the Nineveh Charitable Trust. We hope that this report will be of real encouragement to you.