With the use of meadow bird coordinators, predation can be better tackled. This is the conclusion of Bart Jansen in his research ‘Fighting against the decline of meadow birds in Friesland?’ Jansen, now a flora and fauna specialist at LTO Noord, recently graduated from the Forest and Nature Management course at Wageningen University & Research.
What is the reason for your research?
The population of meadow birds in Friesland is declining by 2.7 percent annually. Causes for this include more intensive agriculture, advancing infrastructure, but also predation. The Farmland Bird Balance 2020 shows that 39.6 percent of the black-tailed godwits and 54.4 percent of the lapwing nests are preyed on in Friesland. These are substantial numbers. The Kollektivenberied Fryslân has asked me to come up with solutions for tackling meadow bird predation.’
‘Sounds from the field sometimes do not reach the local hunter. That can be solved with a coordinator.’
Bart Jansen, flora and fauna specialist at LTO Noord
What do you think can be improved in the approach to predation?
‘Especially the communication. Sounds from the field sometimes do not reach the local hunter. This can be solved with a coordinator who connects parties. It can motivate hunters to go into the field. My proposal is to appoint a volunteer coordinator for each agricultural collective, who is chosen from the various wildlife management units, so that there is a lot of support for the coordinator. He or she will have an important social role that connects the parties.’
Can the meadow birds still be saved?
‘Meadow bird management is very difficult. The province must therefore also dare to make unpopular choices when it comes to predation management. Disturbing, chasing, catching or killing some predators are part of this. That brings a lot of emotions with it. Politicians will soon have to make a few important decisions, including about a predation plan. I hope this research is a good contribution to that.’
Source : Nieuwe Oogst
