Yellowhammer

A few days ago I was walking along a narrow country lane near Montford Bridge when I was pleased to see a yellowhammer alight on the road a little way ahead. Its bright plumage positively glowed in the bright sunshine of that day; this is the one British bird that could, I suppose, be mistaken by the uninitiated for a canary. Well, canaries are finches and yellowhammers are buntings, related but not all that closely - and the yellowhammer has its own distinctive if not quite so mellifluous song, often Anglicised as "A little bit of bread and no cheese."  I watched the yellowhammer for a while, until it decided to fly up onto a perch a little further along the hedgerow, allowing me to continue my walk.

I was pleased to see it because, frankly, it's been a while since I last saw a yellowhammer. They were very familiar birds throughout my youth. I don't walk along country lanes as often as I did in my schooldays, so I suppose I wouldn't see so many yellowhammers, but the sad truth is also that there aren't as many to see. Like many other formerly common birds of the mixed farmland that was formerly widespread, these attractive buntings have seen quite a fall in numbers over recent years, as have relatives like the corn bunting and the cirl bunting.

But they are still about, and the decline of farmland birds is being addressed. These are not species you can protect and encourage via the development of nature reserves, by and large - and in any case that would have the effect of preserving small isolated populations, which may well lack vigour and viability. You need to tackle the thorny issue of farming practices and hedgerow conservation; however, while farmers need to be able to turn in a profit and keep the business viable, most also value the natural world and are keen to play their part in making sure there is still a place for yellowhammers and the like. It's just a matter of education and awareness, and finding ways of keeping up-to-date farming practices wildlife-friendly. Of course, we are fortunate in this part of the world; there are still lots of hedges, and farming is still in many parts locally a mixed and family business. Hence the yellowhammer I saw the other day (and the butterflies, burnet moths and coursing sparrow hawk that were also features of that walk).