Shetland Autumn Seed Scheme

Posted by Brydon Thomason on Wednesday 6th February 2013 | Birding in Shetland, News

Little Bunting

Little Bunting, Norwick, Unst. A typical species that is sure to find a crop in autumn in Shetland, and that birders hope to find, this Little cracker was one of two we found in one day with one of our autumn birding groups on a recent autumn trip.

Shetland has seen a massive change in crofting and agriculture over the past couple of decades. The ‘tattie’ and ‘oat crops’ which were once an iconic and authentic autumn scene throughout the crofting and inhabited landscapes are no longer a common sight. There are of course many land owners still planting crops traditionally but most now tend to be on a larger scale for machinery harvest and not the smaller scale once favoured so fondly by both birds and birders throughout the islands.

This year to encourage willing crofters and land owners, we have independently initiated a scheme to plant ‘sacrificial crops’ such as oats and mixed grain purposefully planted for birds, both resident and migrant and of course birders. Similar such scheme has run successfully for several years such as on on Fair Isle. We are delighted to already have several land owners on board on Unst and we hope that others (both birders and land owners) throughout the isles might do the same.

By helping work the land and part funding these crops we hope that as well as providing habitat for the birds it will also create new (as well as manage current) sites for local and visiting birders (as well as create habitat for our Shetland Autumn Birding guests to find our own birds) which is intended to help towards any potential issues with access, which should never be presumed at any site and permission should always be sought or guidelines understood. Further reading on ‘Birders Code of Conduct’ in Shetland can be found on the Nature in Shetland website.