Winter Bird Food PlotsIn this field, we are growing a mixture of plants intended to feed birds throughout the winter months. During the spring or early summer, a mixture of many types of small seed-bearing plants such as sunflowers, kale and linseed are sown. Throughout summer and into autumn, the plants grow and flower, and are used by a variety of insects, invertebrates and pollinators.
By late autumn, the plants will have set seed, and are left stand in the field to provide a much needed food source to a huge variety of birds, right through until the following spring. Last year, a farmland bird survey conducted in partnership with the Essex Birdwatching Society recorded 28 species of bird using the plots, including red list (endangered) species Linnets and Yellowhammers, as well as Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Brambling. |