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Nature FeaturesYou are in: Devon > Nature > Nature Features > Hedgerow is home from home for rare bird  A cirl bunting Hedgerow is home from home for rare birdA three year project to lay new hedgerows in Exminster to encourage cirl buntings has done the trick! Cirl Bunting FactfileCirl buntings (pronounced sirl) are red listed as a bird of conservation concern because their numbers have declined by more than 50% since 1970. The main reasons for the decline are linked to the loss of stubble fields in winter and the removal of hedgerows. The current UK population of cirl buntings is approximately 700 breeding pairs, found only in South Devon. Cirl buntings, a close relative of the yellowhammer, are small birds (15.5cm). The male is striking with a black chin and stripe on its eye, yellow stripes on the head and yellow underparts. Cirl bunting nests are built in thick and often thorny vegetation such as hedgerows, which is why hedge planting is important for continued survival of the species. Nest building starts in May. Cirl buntings feed on weed seeds and cereal grain - especially barley - but feed their young on insects such as grasshoppers. A rare bird is flocking to the site of a new network of hedges at Exminster near Exeter. Numbers of cirl bunting in the area were down to just three pairs before the project to plant new hedgerows started three years ago. Now there are at least a dozen breeding pairs at the hedgerows, which have been planted on a site owned by the Royal Devon and Exeter (RDE) NHS Trust. The three-year hedge planting project has involved the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the RDE NHS Trust, Teignbridge District Council - which provided a grant - and Hillcrest Growers, a nursery providing therapeutic opportunities to local people with emotional difficulties.  Cirl buntings love hedgerows The cirl bunting is 'red' listed on the RSPB's endangered species register. Once a familiar sight across southern England, it can now only be found in South Devon. Increased housing developments and the loss of habitat - including fields and the removal of hedgerows - left the cirl buntings with nowhere to go, and their numbers have declined by 50% since 1970. During the 1980s, their numbers slumped to 118 pairs, prompting a campaign by the RSPB and English Nature to try and save the species. The campaign has been a major success, and there are now some 700 pairs in South Devon. Exminster is the most northerly site for the cirl bunting, and the importance of their recovery at this site is that it's hoped it will lead to them expanding into East Devon. RSPB conservation officer Kevin Rylands said: "Housing development in the area had caused a decline in cirl bunting numbers to a low of three pairs, but our work with Hillcrest Growers saw the number increase to 12 breeding pairs." "As well as the rise in numbers of breeding cirl buntings, we've recorded a flock of around 20 birds feeding at the site this winter," he added. last updated: 27/03/2008 at 08:58 You are in: Devon > Nature > Nature Features > Hedgerow is home from home for rare bird 
 
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