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News

How an NFFN farmer in Lincolnshire is monitoring bird populations on his land

England
biodiversity

NFFN Farming Champion Jon Thornes is using cutting-edge technology to track and record the dozens of bird species living on his 3,000-acre estate in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

For Jon Thornes, balancing food production with the need to protect nature and biodiversity is at the very heart of his farming philosophy. Now, he is turning to the latest technology to help him do just that.

Jon, who runs the South Ormsby Estate between Louth and Horncastle, has set up monitoring stations across his mixed organic farm to track how many different bird species are living there.

These stations capture the sounds of birds across the estate, which supports native-breed livestock such as Lincoln Red cattle and Norfolk Black turkeys, as well as crops such as wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape.

For Jon, it is important to know how many birds and which species are present on his farm so he can tailor his agricultural practices to further promote biodiversity and ensure nature thrives on the site alongside food production.

What I particularly like about this project is how easy it is for people to understand what we are doing for nature on our farm.

Jon Thornes

Jon, who is part of the NFFN's Farming Champions cohort of public advocates for nature-friendly approaches to agriculture, says: “The goal of this monitoring is to create a baseline that we can measure against going forward. I want to implement more bird-friendly initiatives across the farm.

“By taking these measurements, we can clearly see the tangible impact of practices like organic farming, re-establishing hedgerows and creating smaller fields. It’s something I’d like to see more farmers doing."

Jon also highlights the importance of this initiative, especially in the broader context of farming practices that often focus on soil carbon or nitrogen levels. 

“While those measures are extremely important, what I particularly like about this project is how easy it is for people to understand what we are doing for nature on our farm," he says. "It’s something I can share with my staff or visitors to the farm.”

Jon is confident that the South Ormsby Estate hosts over 100 bird species, having already recorded 89 species near his farmhouse garden alone.

He is using a PUC device to measure avian activity across his farm, feeding the results into BirdWeather, an international citizen science platform which uses the latest technology to monitor and record bird sounds around the globe. Measurements are carried out around the clock.

There are currently six monitoring stations across the South Ormsby estate, an expansion from just the one originally. Jon hopes eventually to have 10 monitoring stations across his land tracking birds.

Jon's cattle are exclusively fed on grass and forage, while grazing in a rotational system, allowing the land enough time to recover. Arable crops are also grown in rotation together with cover crops to nurture the health of the soil and support nature.