Could game management have a role in the conservation of farmland passerines? A case study from a Leicestershire farm

Published source details Stoate C. & Szczur J. (2001) Could game management have a role in the conservation of farmland passerines? A case study from a Leicestershire farm. Bird Study, 48, 279-292.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Control predatory mammals and birds (foxes, crows, stoats and weasels) Action Link
	Control predators not on islands for songbirds Action Link

Control predatory mammals and birds (foxes, crows, stoats and weasels)

A study at three farmland sites in central England in 1992-1998 (Stoate & Szczur 2001) (partly the same study as (Stoate 2002) and extended in (White et al. 2008)) found that nest survival rates of four songbird species were negatively related to the breeding density of carrion crows Corvus corone following the control of nest predators. These species were Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula, song thrush T. philomelos, dunnock Prunella modularis and yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella. Non-significant negative relationships were also found for whitethroat Sylvia communis and chaffinch Fringilla coelebs nesting success and predator densities. Brown rats Rattus norvegicus, red foxes Vulpes vulpes, stoats Mustela erminea, weasels M. nivalis, carrion crows and black-billed magpies Pica pica were controlled through trapping and shooting. Between 151 and 951 nests of each species were studied.
Control predators not on islands for songbirds

A study at three farmland sites in central England in 1992-1998 (Stoate & Szczur 2001) found that nest survival rates of four songbirds were negatively related to the breeding density of carrion crows following the control of nest predators. These species were Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula, song thrush T. philomelos, dunnock Prunella modularis and yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella. Non-significant negative relationships were also found for whitethroat Sylvia communis and chaffinch Fringilla coelebs nesting success and predator densities. Brown rats Rattus norvegicus, red foxes Vulpes vulpes, stoats Mustela erminea, weasels M. nivalis, carrion crows Corvus corone and magpies Pica pica were controlled through trapping and shooting. Between 151 and 951 nests of each species were studied.