Farmland bird management areas, Condition 11/8/2017

Overview of the areas, located in Flanders, within which a management agreement for field birds (grauwe gors, yellow girder, garland, partridge, yellow mercury tail, ringmus and kievit) can be concluded, as provided for by Ministerial Decree.Akkervogels such as field lionerik and partridge deteriorate very strongly in Flanders, as in the rest of Western Europe. This is due to changes in the agricultural landscape, which means that they find insufficient food, breeding and shelters.In the management areas, species protection measures have the greatest added value for crop birds as there are still a sufficient number of arable bird populations. By increasing the food supply and providing additional nesting and shelter, the survival of the arable birds increases. It is important that the measures are sufficiently spread across the area. They are divided into core areas and search areas. Core areas are areas with an up-to-date high presence of field birds. Search zones are areas with high potential for the presence of field birds. Within the core areas, the population density of arable birds distinguishes between priority core areas with the highest densities, the 15.000 ha of best areas and the 25.000 ha of best areas. In the core areas, each individual farmer can conclude a management agreement. In the remaining area of the management area, the search zones, this can only be done in the context of a field bird project.In the management areas for field birds, management agreements can be concluded for the construction and maintenance of a ‘mixed grass strip plus’ and agreements for the cultivation of a seed-supply food such as wheat or buckwheat. A ‘mixed grass strip plus’ is a herb-rich grass strip that attracts insects that serve as summer food for the field birds and their young. In addition, the grass strip offers nesting opportunities and the year around shelter. By leaving seed-supplying food crops until spring, the farmland birds can feed on cereals during winter. In addition, the food crop provides cover at a time when many fields are bald. The farmer receives an annual fee for five years for compensation.Management areas for arable birds are part of the management areas for species protection. The management areas for the management objective of species protection are defined on a proposal from the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO) on the basis of the most recent monitoring data available.