WildCare News
WildCare Select Farm Milk Pool Update
 During the dairy farm walks on the Waitrose Select Farm Milk Pool farms species are identified and noted by the WildCare assessors. On future farm visits further observation will take place and trends noted. Within the Milk Pool the counties of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire are areas that show particularly good species numbers with regard to birds. This is without any doubt due to the retention of old hedge rows across these counties and their rural landscape. Listed below are some of the interesting species observed in all the counties covered by the Waitrose Select Farm Milk Pool. The table shows the numbers observed.
| Little Owl |
19 |
| Kingfisher |
20 |
| Kestrel |
45 |
| Goldcrest |
4 |
| Barn Owl |
19 |
| Mistle Thrush |
102 |
| Red Kite |
29 |
| Skylark |
282 |
| Song Thrush |
58 |
| Tree Sparrow |
20 |
| Yellow Wagtail |
13 |
| Yellowhammer |
232 |
 Of the species above one can observe the decline of the tree sparrow, song thrush and yellow wagtail as quite dramatic. The skylark with 282 sightings appears to be a reasonable number but within the matrix Dorset had 175 observations leaving the other counties quite low in this particular species.
With regard to mammals on the farm sightings were brown hares 141, field voles 12 and water voles 3.
Whilst the assessors have been walking the farms, they note the habitat levels on each farm, these have varied between 10 and 40%. The farms include the following areas and measurements within the Waitrose Select Farm Pool.
- 5,000 acres of habitat
- 550 miles of hedgerows
- 60 miles of ditches
- 90 miles of watercourses
- 600 acres of woodlands
- 150 acres of gamecover
- 30 acres of ponds
- 14 acres of orchards
Each farm will be walked twice a year and the key action points that farmers have agreed to carry out will be monitored, together with ongoing species development.
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