Crofters in the Outer Hebrides are being offered cash to revive traditional farming methods that offer a lifeline to the extinction-threatened corn bunting.
RSPB Scotland is urging farmers on Uist to set land aside for corn stooks, or stacks, which provide the birds with a vital food supply as the corn dries. Rows of the small corn stacks were a common sight before the switch to machines that convert corn into arable silage. Now the RSPB is to offer crofters around £250 per acre set aside for stacks.
Jamie Boyle of the Balranald reserve on North Uist, said: “Arable stacks stored as winter feed provide a food source for farmland birds, particularly corn buntings. It would be sad if the birds’ jangling song was lost forever from the islands, so we hope crofters will consider stooking a small portion of their crop.”