One man fight to save wildlife

One man fight to save wildlife

Blackbird habitat includes farmland, woodland and urban areas

A west Cumbrian man has applied for permission to create a wildlife haven in a five acre field behind his home.

Alan Jeffery, from Santon, in Eskdale, already organises two-and-a-half acres of garden to help threatened songbirds breed.

Now he wants to add an area of indigenous plants, a pond and habitat for other species.

He hopes it will be used nationally as a model of what can be achieved in supporting native species.

Pesticide use

Mr Jeffery told BBC Radio Cumbria: "One of the models we have created here has proved that songbirds need a thicket to nest in, but more importantly, an elevated position to sing from.

"This flaying of hedges which has become a way of controlling hedge growth over the last 20 years or so, means that there won't be any songbirds in the miles and miles of these hedgerows.

"If it was allowed to grow up a bit, or allow a tree to be planted every so many metres then it would have a huge difference on the nesting birds."

"You would be very surprised at the diversity that is already here and this model proves that you produced the habitat that suits there lifestyle... it just shows what could be done nationally.

"The likes of song thrushes and blackbirds are very happy to live alongside people.

"The sort of thing affecting them are decimation of habitat and the use of pesticides."