"It's -6C and I'm off to what has been a regular haunt recently a field planted by a small, community-run charity, Speyside Fields for Wildlife, which works with local farmers, crofters and others to take over spare fields and land for wildlife-friendly crops. Some sites are planted with annuals such as cornflower, corncockle, marigold and poppy important sources of pollen, nectar and flowers that used to grow among the grain crops before herbicides became commonplace."
"Others, such as this one on a hill farm, have been planted with seed crops that benefit birds and other wildlife during autumn and winter. From afar, the field gleams icy-white, and when I arrive the ground is crunchy underfoot. The black oat and barley stalks are brittle and more of a pale gold, thick and glistening with the hoarfrost"
Speyside Fields for Wildlife plants spare fields with wildlife-friendly crops with local farmers and crofters. Some sites are sown with annuals such as cornflower, corncockle, marigold and poppy to provide pollen, nectar and flowers once common among grain crops. Other sites are planted with seed crops like black oat, barley, millet and fodder radish to supply autumn and winter food for birds and other wildlife. Hoarfrost and pale gold stalks shape the winter landscape. Large flocks of chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, bramblings and linnets feed and roost, sometimes numbering in the thousands.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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