© Bill Meek (Licensed under CC BY 4.0). Kindly recommended by UKCEH.

Margins, strips, blocks or corners around arable fields which are covered in wild bird cover crops. These crops are left unharvested over the winter so that the seeds produced by the plants can benefit the farmland birds. The arable field must be in a crop rotation that includes an arable crop (for example wheat, barley, maize, oats), even if in certain years the field is in temporary grass, set-aside or fallow. The main benefits of wild bird seed mixes are that they provide food and seed for the animals (specifically birds) over winter and summer, as well as shelter and cover over winter.

This habitat is usually sited on the outer 2–12 m margin of the arable field, although when planted as blocks they occasionally extend further into the field centre. If you are looking to create this habitat it should be around 6m wide.
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There are no conditions for this habitat type.

Can be done in strips or blocks. Note that a competent person should demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge and experience in creating, enhancing and/or managing arable habitats. You may wish to note that advice will be sought from an agricultural land agent.

You should not create this habitat in:

• cool, north facing shaded locations, as most seeds will not germinate

• places with perennial and arable grass weed problems (Source: HM Government)

If you are interested in enhancing or creating this habitat, you should consider the following (all recommended by CIEEM or HM Government).

Guide 1 - Arable Field Margins

Guide 2 - Create cultivated margins and plots for arable plants

Guide 3 - Create and maintain flower-rich margins and plots

Guide 4 - Arable Field Margins

Guide 5 - Supporting guidance for Wild Bird Seed for Farmland Birds

Please note that this is a simple guide to help identify the habitat. For a definitive description, please refer to UKHab documentation. Joe's Blooms takes no responsibility for the content of external links.