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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pratincol" data-source="post: 3487734" data-attributes="member: 65801">Talk about taking quotes out of context to make a dubious point Jason!Actually I don't dislike dogs but I'm not keen on owners who rip down signs politely asking them to keep the their dogs on leads during the bird breeding season.Some farmers are doing a lot of good work round here even if they are being paid to do so by government grants.Is that such an incredible thing to say Jason? I see them planting native trees,fencing off land to encourage natural vegetation,planting hedgerows,maintaining walls  round here- its not all doom and gloom. Yes, even the old stone walls are great habitats for all sorts of insect life and surprisingly, the humble toad.The Meadow Pipits,Whinchat Stonechat and Wheatear love them-  they use them as perching posts as launching pads  when hunting for food.A group of Tebay farmers were persuaded to fence off large areas of  the fells adjacent to the M6 and plant deciduous trees.Within a short space of time not only are the trees growing but also natural vegetation is regenerating because the sheep are no longer munching away day in,day out.If you are ever travelling north on the motorway cast your eyes towards the Howgills  just south of the Tebay gap.They have done the same in Borrowdale just opposite on the other side of the M6. Local farmers have been part of a scheme in creating a huge wetland reserve just down the road.Before it was useless grazing land now you will see hundreds of wildfowl,herons and birds of prey where none were seen before..Another farmer took up the butterfly habitat scheme I mentioned.It took him months of paperwork and putting the money up first himself.He wasn't going to get paid until he had finished the work.Then some idiots came along and damaged the fence because their rights to roam had been restricted[even though they just had a small diversion to get to go where they wanted].By the way the key suspects in this case weren't walkers or dog owners but most likely mountain bikers.They are the only group whoever go up there these days. Somebody told me about a tarn locally which was attracting a lot of winter wildfowl.I looked at my out of date map but there was no indication of a stretch of water.I drove down there and to my amazement there was this huge lake headed by a reed bed area.Making some enquiries I discovered the local farmer had got fed up with the area because it was always flooding.So he dammed it off and created this whole new tarn.He told me he loved the sound of the whistling Wigeon and the whole new vista he'd created.Some local shooters asked if they could shoot there and he told them to clear off- no way did he want the lake disturbed or the birds frightened away. A few years ago I noticed a semicircle of dense pine wood had been chopped down, in an obscure part of Cumbria.A year later I heard some ducks quacking.I was surprised to find a large pond had been created.Now some reeds have grown and it supports a huge number of dragonflies and insects.Because there is a ready meal of insects Spotted Flycatchers and Common Redstarts breed there- I see them every year now.When I asked the local farmer[ who maintains a massive Gorse area as an SSSI] who was behind it, he told me a local farmer had created it.He had no idea why he had gone to all this effort, as there was no commercial gain in doing so.Another farmer told me he had a family of Barn Owls in his barn last year and it was a bit of a pain.He didn't want to disturb them as the young were being reared and he has only got two other outhouses.Nevetheless he not only let them be but also rang a local ringer who came to ring them. We know all about the damage modern farming methods cause but try and see the positive amongst all the negatives Jason.If I see something good happening which is benefitting birds and wildlife, even if carried out by the arch enemy, the farmer, then why not say so?They aren't all ogres!Good old George Monbiot has quite rightly highlighted the bird free zones caused by upland grazing in the Lake District.He even confronted a group of farmers in a meeting in Penrith,brave man that he is.He was almost lynched for his pains.No mere keyboard warrior he.No, he gets off his backside and campaigns  vigorously on these matters rather than just sniping from behind his laptop.Because he doesn't spend as much time around here as I do then I'm not sure he is aware of some subtle changes which are taking place in favour of wildlife.Not enough but better than nothing.</blockquote>

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