Corn Buntings continued, a reply at least from The National Trust

I have had a reply from the National Trust, which was decent of them but it was largely generic. There was some positive parts of the email which showed that more locals had complained about the Beetle bank and had successfully stopped even more habitat loss ! To be fair at least the National Trust listened to them. My major worry at Trevose and the North Coast of Cornwall is a lack of common sense from management. Nature doesn't always read textbooks, if something works and benefits nature use common sense and keep it there! Speak to locals or at least liase with other departments such as the RSPB before you carry out major work. Don't use contractors or least oversee the work they do. My worry in the future would be these people have jobs and they will never admit to a mistake because they are probably worried about their careers. The National Trust have a big responsibility to care for the wildlife on all of North Cornwalls headlands, including the almost extinct Corn Bunting, step up please!

My reply to them ( due to the Trusts copyright and data protection I don't think I can post their reply on the blog, I wonder if they would publicly reply on Twitter or on here, that would be interesting):

Hello ##### ,

I appreciate you replying to me, I was aware of grass buffer strips needing to be cut as part of the HLS agreement, after all grass and vegetation can become rank and too thick for the breeding birds so a cut is worthwhile. I'm also not unrealistic in knowing that this is a working farm and compromise is the big word, after all the farmers need to make a living off of the land. The Trust's management plan sounds excellent but words are easy and forgive me for being cynical but there is no way a working farm could be so perfect world. However if these words are true it is a nice thing to aim for.

As regarding the ' margin'  in question ( beetle bank as it was commonly known) I would argue that it was a hedgerow? Perhaps on a map it is a margin but it is well over a decade since  this habitat was any different. Did you ever visit the site? It worked really well for all nature! It separated two entirely different fields, one which was left as a set aside field for winter stubble and one which was a corn field, surely not a field margin? I would be interested to know if any of the aforementioned groups where consulted before the bank got removed, as perhaps they would never have realized this would happen when the plan of managing field margins was discussed as I don't believe it was one!

Sadly I am not an ecologist so I cannot back up my feelings that this was a big error with any data ( and I don't just have Corn Buntings at heart, I do care for all the nature on the headland and can see the bigger picture if that was what you where insinuating). I doubt you will ever accept that removing this was a big error, my hope is this , speak to people before you act! It is great news that you spoke to the local birders and agreed to leave some habitat but this is reactionary and after the event, believe me they would have thought you were bonkers to remove that bank. Claire Mucklow at the RSPB knows the headland well and I would hope her input would help on a professional scale . Stan Christophers is the local birder up there, my personal feelings aside he is the man to talk to , he knows the Headland and its birds better than anybody and from when I used to talk to him up there he is realistic in striking a balance.  

Sometimes in nature if something works then it is best left as it is and I worry there is no common sense left in managing Trevose Head and other sites on the North Coast, just ideas and strategies dream't up in an office.  I would love to be proven wrong in this instance and hope the Corn Buntings will thrive regardless of the loss of their home, but please remember that they have had a really tough time in the breeding months for many years as nests have been lost, just a tiny change in their habitat could wipe them out and they are a sedentary species, more Corn Buntings will not migrate here and re-colonise, once they are gone they are gone. When I heard the National Trust had obtained Trevose Head I was genuinely pleased! I am a member and moving on from this I hope my trust in the charity can be regained...

Regards

Bob