FARMERS are being encouraged to plan their Entry Level Schemes around the needs of the much-loved but declining grey partridge.

According to Peter Thompson, the Game Conservancy Trust's farmland biodiversity officer, farmers had already responded enthusiastically to the trust's local partridge recovery groups, such as the Cotswolds.

Mr Thompson said: "Without farmers and farmed land, grey partridges are doomed. We are therefore delighted that farmers are showing such interest in saving this iconic bird species."

However, he said, it appeared that although partridges were benefiting from the creation of improved nesting habitats, other important features, like brood-rearing cover, were being neglected.

He explained: "Partridge chicks need to come away from the nesting area to forage for food and they need to have cover to protect them from avian predators. Under the Entry Level Scheme there are some good payment options under brood rearing. For example, conservation headlands with no fertiliser applied pays £330 per hectare."

Mr Thompson said it was also important to think about the middle of the field. "Grey partridges like open countryside, so to really boost partridge numbers, place strips in the middle of the field next to an environmental feature such as a beetle bank. You will then create a partridge heaven and be paid in the process."

To help farmers make the most of their Entry Level Scheme for grey partridges the Trust has published a set of five free fact sheets which explain how to restore wild grey partridges. To obtain copies or to join a regional partridge group contact The Game Conservancy Trust, Fordingbridge, Hampshire SP6 1EF or telephone 01425 652381.