Farmland birds and the field boundary evaluation and grading system in Ireland

Field boundaries are important habitats for birds within the agricultural landscape. In this study, bird surveys
were carried out during the winter and breeding season on nine farms in the east and south-east of
Ireland and field boundaries at each site were assessed using the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading
System (FBEGS). Poisson regression demonstrated that FBEGS scores were a good predictor of both winter
and breeding bird species richness and diversity within the field boundaries studied. We interpret these
preliminary results with caution since our sample size was relatively small (compared to the wide variety
of field boundary types found in Ireland) and no single combination of field boundary attributes is likely
to be optimum for all bird species. However, our results suggest that FBEGS may be a useful surrogate
indicator of overall field boundary bird diversity and we discuss the consequent implications for agri-environmental
policy, and for the possible adaptation and use of FBEGS as a tool to monitor the impact of
changing farm management practice.