Upper Clun Community Wildlife Group Report 2018 Upper Clun Community Wildlife Group Report 2018 Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 Aims & objectives ..................................................................................................................... 1 Area & membership .................................................................................................................. 1 Management committee ........................................................................................................... 1 Publicity ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Website ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Facebook page .......................................................................................................................... 2 Co-operation with farmers, landowners & other organisations ............................................ 2 Activities & surveys .................................................................................................................. 2 Covering other types of wildlife ............................................................................................... 3 Funding ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Constitution .............................................................................................................................. 3 Other community wildlife groups ............................................................................................ 3 BIRD SURVEYS ............................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Participation and Coverage ..................................................................................................................... 4 Lapwings .................................................................................................................................... 4 Fieldwork Results ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Local Extinction ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Habitat requirements ................................................................................................................................ 4 Curlew Recovery Project ........................................................................................................... 5 Fieldwork Results ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Discussion................................................................................................................................................. 6 Habitat Requirements and Population Decline ..................................................................................... 8 Snipe ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Birds of the “wetlands” ............................................................................................................. 9 Survey Findings ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Red kite..................................................................................................................................... 10 Kestrel project .......................................................................................................................... 10 Dippers ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Nest boxes for woodland birds ............................................................................................... 12 Barn owls ................................................................................................................................. 12 Other species ........................................................................................................................... 13 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 13 THE PLANT GROUP (The Wildlife Site And Botany Survey Group) ....................................... 14 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 14 Survey methodology ............................................................................................................... 14 Results and findings ................................................................................................................ 15 Discussion............................................................................................................................................... 15 Further work ............................................................................................................................. 16 THE BUTTERFLY GROUP .......................................................................................................... 16 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 17 Safeguarding habitat ............................................................................................................... 17 Future plans ............................................................................................................................. 17 Volunteers needed……………………………………………………………………………………..17 MAMMALS .................................................................................................................................. 18 CO-OPERATION WITH FARMERS ............................................................................................. 18 CONSERVATION ACTION .......................................................................................................... 18 Local (county) Wildlife Sites ................................................................................................... 18 HLS agreements....................................................................................................................... 18 Countryside stewardship ........................................................................................................ 20 Clun forest facilitation fund .................................................................................................... 20 Future agri-environment schemes.......................................................................................... 21 Habitat requirements for target species ................................................................................. 21 Habitat management leaflets................................................................................................... 22 Surveying wildlife sites ........................................................................................................... 22 River catchment management ................................................................................................ 22 Shropshire hills aonb management plan ............................................................................... 23 Conservation action ................................................................................................................ 23 Curlew action plan, & the SWT / SOS “Save our Curlews” campaign ................................. 23 SWT / SOS Save our Curlews Campaign .............................................................................................. 24 Other Community Wildlife Groups ......................................................................................................... 24 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................... 25 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................. 25 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 27 DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................................................................. 28 THE REPORT ............................................................................................................................... 28 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 30 Appendix 1. Bird Survey Recording Instructions 2018 ......................................................... 30 i) Curlew and Lapwing ....................................................................................................