Applied Plant Research (PPO) of Wageningen UR will together with Landschapbeheer Zuid-Holland improve the mapping of bulb birds. Many birds brooding in tulip fields are found on the list of endangered species, such as the skylark. Their presence may help improving the poor environmental image of the bulb sector.
According to Nathalie Reijers, Project Leader of PPO in Lisse, endangered field birds such as the skylark and the partridge do so well in tulip and hyacinth fields in the Bulb Region due to the rest during the brooding season. ‘The crops provide protection and there are few activities on the field from March to Mid June whereas at that time mowing is often already well underway in grassland areas. The birds also appreciate the straw that has been put between the rows to protect the bulbs against night frost.’ The Agrarische Natuur- en Landschapsvereniging Geestgrond has asked PPO and Landschapsbeheer Zuid-Holland to perform bird counts around bulb fields. At the same time bird protecting measures are taken together with flower bulb growers. This mainly concerns the establishment and management of borders of fields and banks of ditches that are rich in herbal plants. The current projects builds on an earlier inventory of birds on nineteen bulb farms.
An important objective of the project is to break the negative environmental image of the bulb sector. This image is according to Reijers persistent although considerable environmental improvements have been made in recent years. ‘The message does not yet really come across and such a project may contribute to breaking the ice.’
Source: WB
Source picture: www.vogelbescherming.nl