Sir, – Mervyn Browne highlighted in his letter (The Scottish Farmer, April 29) the sad and worrying state of songbirds and farmland birds in this country.

He makes the valid point that while farming methods in Highland Perthshire have changed but little in the last 50 years and habitats have improved, ironically the numbers of many songbirds and farmland birds have decreased dramatically.

Instead, what we have witnessed – particularly in the last 25 years – is a significant increase in the numbers of predators and scavengers.

As Mr Browne rightly pointed out, it is not farming practices which have led to this catastrophic decline, as more than 2m ha of farmland is now in agri-environmental schemes, which, amongst other enterprises, have contributed to more than 45,000 km of new hedgerows being planted since 1990.

Broadleaved woodland in the UK has increased by a third since 1947, yet despite all these habitat improvements and positive initiatives, songbird and farmland bird numbers continue to decline. At the same time, predator and scavenger numbers are at all time highs.

For most farmland birds and songbirds, survival is based on three elements which could be likened to a three-legged stool.

They are food, habitat and targeted predator control. If just one of those elements is missing, the stool collapses.

In nearly all cases, it is the predator control element which is now missing. While agri-environment schemes created much better conditions for songbirds and farmland birds, they have also created a paradise for predators and scavengers, which include crows, ravens, foxes, magpies, cats, grey squirrels and protected species such as badgers and birds of prey – all of which have multiplied unchecked.

If the current precarious state of most farmland birds and songbirds is to be taken seriously by governments and conservation charities, they need to change their attitudes and make predator control an essential part of countryside management.

At the same time, they should also review the protected status of certain animals and birds which have so multiplied in number that their protected status is no longer required. This should be weighed against the continuing damage which they are inflicting on songbirds and farmland birds, and can certainly no longer be justified either.

I drove last week between Westruther and Duns along the foot of the Lammermuir Hills. It was a real pleasure and treat to see so many lapwings and oyster catchers in the grass fields and on the edge of the hill.

This is an area which is managed and keepered. As a result, these iconic farmland birds have a real chance of breeding success.

If this did not happen, it would not be long before the hills became silent, as Mr Browne has witnessed in Perthshire.

Colin Strang Steel

Trustee,

SongBird Survival,

Threepwood,

Galashiels.