A South Devon bird which faced extinction in the 1980s is now starting to recover thanks to an EU-funded recovery programme. I am giving my full support to efforts to save the cirl bunting, a small bird with a yellow and black crown, which almost died out 25 years ago due to the lack of food and nesting sites. The bird is now only found in South Devon between Plymouth and Exeter, even though at its peak it was seen across Southern England. Thanks to the European Rural Development stewardship fund which began in 2003 and CAP agri-environment funding, the RSPB and local farmers have been able to build up the bird’s population from just over 100 pairs in 1989 to almost 900 in 2009. By the end of the 2013 breeding season over 60 young cirl bunting birds had been spotted, which was especially high given the number of breeding pairs that had been sighted in the same period. I am pleased that the 10-year EU scheme has allowed local charities to bring this little bird back from the brink. I have told the RSPB and others that they will have my full support in Brussels if they need to renew the funding. In January 2013 I visited Lower Sharpham Barton Farm in Totnes where charity AMBIOS runs an EU-wide biodiversity traineeship programme and has provided assistance with the cirl bunting effort. We must do our utmost to protect our precious wildlife and preserve the tranquil and unspoilt environment in which they live.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:58:29 +0000
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