BARFORD Park Farm in Downton was host for the launch of the Big Farmland Bird Count on Friday morning.

Due to the weather only Yellowhammers and swans were spotted on the day, but the farm in Downton is still encouraging farmers across the country to get involved in the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) scheme.

The count takes inspiration from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ Big Garden Bird Watch, and is running from February 8 to 17.

The scheme encourages farmers to spend about 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of their farm, as well as trying to encourage birds onto the farms through feeding them.

Once this information is recorded, the GWCT want farmers to submit it online.

Peter Thompson, biodiversity adviser for the GWCT, said the scheme is “fantastic”, and that “involvement is key.”

The scheme is also about encouraging environmental care, which Peter said is “crucial”.

He said: “This has been running now for six years and it’s been increasing each year.

“Last year we had more than 1,000 farmers across the UK take part, which is excellent, but we’d love to have even more.

“That’s what we’re trying to do - trying to get farmers more involved.

“Involvement is key, in my view, but also a big part of this is that we want to shout more about it to the public, so they realise that farmers are not only growing food for us, which is massively important, but they are also looking after the environment, and that’s a crucial part of this exercise.”

Minette Batters, who runs the farm and is also president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), added: “This year we really hope there will be a record number of farms getting involved.”